Crash News WORLD ’17

Crash News World 2017

Man arrested after being caught with two stolen lamp-posts on the roof of his car

4th August 2017

Police in the Netherlands have arrested a man with two lamp-posts strapped to the top of his car. Lelystad officers are unsure where the lamp-posts came from but they are assumed to have been stolen.

And they were just one of his many violations – but definitely the most remarkable. Dutch police found the car was not insured and its APK (the Dutch alternative of an MoT) was three months out of date.

The driver’s licence had expired at the end of 2016. It’s thought he had filled the car with petrol but not paid for the fuel and he was driving under the influence of alcohol.The lamp-posts were, quite literally, the illegal cherry on the already quite illegal cake.”Cargo should not be transported in this way,” say Lelystad police in a Facebook post about the arrest.

“It is expected that justice will demand the highest possible penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol, because the defendant did not cooperate with the investigation.”

Why you should always wear a seat belt in the car: Shocking CT scans reveal woman’s smashed skull and face after horrific car crash when her EYE ended up inside her nose

2nd August 2017

Medical scans show a woman’s skull before and after reconstructive surgery

A 25-year-old patient was thrown from car in the US while not wearing a seat belt

Skull was broken and fractured and her upper and lower jaw smashed apart

The 25-year-old US woman was reportedly thrown from a car while not wearing her seat belt. ‘This CT shows her completed facial reconstruction. Thanks to a dedicated multidisciplinary team, the patient is now ambulatory and recovering well.’

The post was uploaded to the website in 2015 but this week it was shared on Imgur and Reddit, prompting awe and praise for the surgeon’s capabilities.

After several hours of surgery surgeons were able to reconstruct the woman’s face. Many suggested his work was like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. One user said: ‘Literally spectacular. Medicine at its finest right there.’ While another user, who is a midwife, wrote: ‘Such a fantastic job. An absolute credit to reconstruction talent. ‘It is work like this that makes the long tedious hours of training worthwhile.’

Tragic: In April 2016, Kelsey Ward was involved in a serious car accident where her right arm was severed above the elbow

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Devastating: Kelsey (left) was driving home when her SUV rolled off an exit ramp and flipped over. A metal guardrail pierced her passenger window and lopped off her arm (pictured right).

A mother-of-two had her arm re-attached in a groundbreaking operation less than a year after it was sliced off in a car accident. Kelsey Ward, from Schertz, Texas, was driving home from work in April 2016 when her SUV rolled off an exit ramp and turned over.

A metal guardrail crashed through the passenger window and cut her arm off above her elbow. Years ago, that kind of incident would have left Kelsey with a stump. But in a surgery never performed before in Texas, doctors at San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) were able to successfully replant her severed arm.

It’s a procedure that’s been done fewer than 10 times in the US. Doctors say Kelsey is recovering well, achieving small tasks like picking up a banana at the grocery store – and even the seemingly impossible, like doing push-ups.

AE road accidents claim 315 lives so far this year

MENAFN – Khaleej Times – 30/07/2017

(MENAFN – Khaleej Times) Deaths caused by traffic accidents have reached 315 in the first half of 2017, revealed the General Directorate of Traffic Coordination of the Ministry of Interior on Sunday.

Statistics revealed 315 people died in the #UAE as a result of traffic accidents in the first half of 2017, compared to 386 deaths in the same period of 2016. The numbers reveal a decrease of 18.4 per cent.

Injuries resulting from traffic accidents also decreased by 12.5 per cent, with 3,015 people injured, compared to 3,447 in the first half of last year.

Traffic accidents in general also decreased in the #UAE in the first half of this year, as figures show 2,133 accidents took place, compared to 2,520 in the fist half of last year, a decline by 15.4 per cent (387 accidents).

Brigadier Ghaith Hassan Al Zaabi, Director General, Traffic Coordination General Directorate at the Ministry of Interior (MoI), said the decrease in traffic accidents, deaths and injuries have a lot to do with the efforts and ongoing initiatives by the #UAE leadership, the Ministry of Interior and the Police, who are immensely raising awareness about traffic safety.

He pointed out that the aim is to reduce the mortality rate to three per cent per 100,000 of the population by 2021. Brigadier Al Zaabi also stressed the importance of the recent amendment of the Federal Traffic Law, which came in force across the#UAE on July 1.

The recent law amendments aim to further reduce traffic accidents, including those caused by dangerous driving, speeding, not wearing seatbelt, not leaving enough distance between the vehicles, and sudden swerving.

Just on Thursday evening, two Emirati students at the Khalifa bin Zayed Air College, were killed when their Nissan Patrol crashed in Al Ain, due to excessive speed. The students were only 18 years old. Colonel Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Director of Al Ain Traffic Department, said the young driver was speeding and lost control of his vehicle, which led to sudden deviation and overturning the 4×4 vehicle.

Brigadier Al Zaabi said the cause of traffic accidents in the #UAE are closely linked to the increasing population, as well as the increasing number of residents obtaining driving licenses.

‘Killing someone with a knife is not accepted, do the same with a car and it is. It’s wrong’: Olympic gold medal cyclist Chris Boardman slams justice delays that mean no one has been prosecuted for his mother’s death a YEAR AGO

25th July 2017

Carol Boardman died from injuries sustained in a collision with a pick-up truck

Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman has slammed the justice system which has meant no one has been prosecuted for his mother’s death more than a year later.

Carol Boardman died from injuries sustained in a collision with a pick-up truck while out riding her bike in north Wales on July 16 last year.

North Wales Police said the investigation into her death is ongoing and no decision has been made as to whether the driver will be prosecuted.

Carol Boardman died from injuries sustained in a collision with a pick-up truck while out riding her bike in north Wales on July 16 last year. Mr Boardman, 48, an Olympic cycling champion, complained that road crime ‘isn’t taken seriously’.

He said: ‘Killing, injuring or even threatening someone with a knife is not accepted, do the same with a car and it often is. And it’s wrong.’

Mrs Boardman, herself a former racing cyclist, died aged 75 while riding her bike in Connah’s Quay in Flintshire. Posting an emotional message a year since her death, Mr Boardman said: ‘It’s been heart-wrenching watching my dad try to come to terms with the absence of his soul mate.

‘We’ve all had to try and carry on living a ‘normal life’ it’s what my mum would have wanted. But it doesn’t feel normal. ‘Whether intentional aggression or inattentiveness, road crime, because that’s what it is, isn’t taken seriously. ‘A year on, there still has not been a decision on whether to even prosecute the man who killed my mother. A year.

‘I originally didn’t care what happened to the driver, it would change nothing for us and would we really want to ruin another life? ‘But if our justice system doesn’t take road crime seriously, then someone will needlessly go through what my father is experiencing now.’

An inquest opened into Mrs Boardman’s death recorded an initial conclusion of death resulting from multiple injuries.

Seven die in traffic accidents during bleak weekend on Swedish roads

24 July 2017

File photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Seven people have been killed so far this weekend in accidents on Sweden’s roads, including a man who crashed his motorcycle and a woman who was hit by a bus.

Two further people were also killed in motorcycle accidents and two of the seven deaths were caused by pedestrians being run over, while separate accidents claimed the lives of two more victims, one of whom was a truck driver, reports news agency TT. Many more have also been injured during a particularly poor weekend for traffic accidents, according to the report.

“The accidents that have occurred are completely normal, even though they are tragic. The accidents have different causes and are not a result of anything in particular. The main thing is to be careful on the road when there is a lot of traffic,” press officer Linda Corsvall of road authority Trafikverket told TT.

Statistics showing whether road safety in Sweden has got worse overall in 2017 will not be available until after the summer, reports TT. Accident numbers are related to congestion on roads, meaning peaks are seen around holiday periods such as Christmas, Easter and Midsummer, as well as during the summer when many people are travelling away from home.

Although the weekend’s accidents have different causes, Trafikverket advised drivers to always check road conditions before travelling and try to avoid busy spots. “When there are big holidays we go out and find out which roads have heavy traffic, and also advise which roads have speed cameras and central barriers. These are a bit slower, but the safest roads,” Corsvall said.

BEWARE: Insurance scam

24th July 2017

Dashcam shows a man intentionally trying scam driver for a possible insurance claim. Little did the scammer know the driver had a dashcam of her own.

The video shows a woman driving her car down a quiet road when a man suddenly appears “fake-pushing” a motorbike. He then manually reverses the bike towards the car, hits it against the bumper and body-slams himself onto the hood of the car before he hits the road.

Mother tells drunk driving business leader ‘Look what you did to my son’ as she shares pictures showing 16-year-old’s horrific injuries which left him semi-paralysed

A mother has shared the horrific injuries her teenage son suffered when he was left for dead by a drunk business who crashed into him and then fled in his Mercedes.

A drink-driving business leader who left a teenager for dead after smashing into his bike in a hit-and-run crash fled 150 miles to Birmingham – but was turned in by his EX-WIFE.

Kiernan Roberts was left with a broken neck and severe head injuries when Owen Finn, 64, crashed into him on a dark country road near Grimsby on October 7 last year. The 16-year-old’s head was severely disfigured in the smash.

Instead of stopping, Finn, who had been downing wine, spirits and cocktails at a function attended by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and Geoffrey Boycott, drove 130 miles to his mother’s home in Birmingham with a broken windscreen.

Kiernan Roberts received a broken neck and severe head injuries when Owen Finn, 64, crashed into him on a dark country road near Grimsby

Instead of stopping, Finn, who had been downing wine, spirits and cocktails at a function attended by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard, drove 130 miles to his mother’s home in Birmingham with a broken windscreen.

Finn, from Birmingham, was branded a ‘coward’ in court. He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years. He was sentenced to a further four months, to be served concurrently, for failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and drink-driving. Kiernan’s family released the photographs to show the pain and suffering drink driving can cause.

His mother Marie Roberts told the Grimsby Telegraph: ‘He has suffered massive distress due to his head disfigurement and we did not want to add to that.

‘But we want Finn to see what he has taken from Kiernan. We want him to see for himself what Kiernan has lost.

‘We partly want Finn to see what he has done and not simply think he can dismiss it as a simple ‘bad thing’, as described by his defending barrister in court.

Finn was branded a ‘coward’ in court. He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for three years (This sentence is a joke! It is no wonder people break the road safety laws, when they are given a ‘get out of jail free’ card – Ed).

‘And we also want people to see the sheer grit and determination Kiernan has shown over the last nine months, plus the amazing care he has received at Hull Royal and Castle Hill as he has been on the continuing journey.’

Judge Richardson told the court that Kiernan had sustained a fractured skull, spinal chord injuries and had been left paralysed on his right-hand side. Kiernan’s family released the photographs to show the pain and suffering drink driving can cause

The teenager, who had been a star pupil at his sixth form, is now learning to walk and talk again. The court heard Kiernan has just this week been released from hospital – nine months on from the horrific crash after having life-saving surgery.

Judge Richardson said: ‘You have shattered the life of a much-loved boy of 16 years. You have also wrecked the life of his loving family. ‘You were drunk at the wheel of a high-powered car having been at a social event. You literally ploughed into that boy, who was riding his bike home in a prudent way.’

The court was told how the impact with Kiernan had smashed the windscreen of Finn’s Mercedes was smashed on the passenger side. Judge Richardson added: ‘His injuries were truly grievous and there will be life-long consequences.

‘You will one day come out of prison and begin to rebuild your life but your victim has had his life permanently sabotaged. That boy will have a real and enduring struggle throughout his life. You are the cause of that.’

Same story From the Birmingham Mail

A drink-driving business leader who left a teenager for dead after smashing into his bike in a hit-and-run crash fled 150 miles to Birmingham – but was turned in by his EX-WIFE.

“Coward” Owen Finn, aged 64, left 16-year-old Kiernan Roberts sprawled in the road with a broken neck and serious head injuries after striking him from behind on October 7 last year. He was more than twice the lega limit for driving.

Kiernan’s father, who had been walking alongside him on the footpath minutes earlier, was among the first on the scene and saw his son being treated in the road by a paramedic.

Kiernan, a “star” sixth-form student, remains in hospital nine months after the horrific crash after having life-saving surgery.

Finn was president of Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce and was returning from a function attended by former Conservative Party leader Michael Howard and Yorkshire cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott.

John Thackray, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court that witnesses described him being “drunk”, and “unsteady, wobbly, with altered speech”. Another said he “couldn’t stand up without holding onto the back of a chair”. Finn, from Birmingham, made the disastrous decision to get back in his car.

Kiernan was an experienced, “careful and competent” cyclist who “took road safety seriously”, and was “closely familiar with the local roads”, the court heard. He had even upgraded his front and rear lights to improve his visibility to other road users.

Mr Thackray said: “Even if the defendant did not use his full-beam headlights, the rear cycle light would have been clearly visible at 193 metres, which would have given Mr Finn eight to 13 seconds prior to to the collision to see the cycle and avoid it.”

The collision left rider and debris strewn across the road. Kiernan, from Hull, East Yorkshire, was on his way home from his part-time job at a restaurant where his father had met him at 11pm. Mr Thackray said: “He was pushing his cycle with the lights illuminated.”

“They were walking together on a footpath towards home.

Shortly after the junction, Kiernan asked to cycle the remainder of the journey. His father agreed.

“The windscreen of Finn’s Mercedes was smashed on the passenger side. He later told police he thought his car had been “hit by a brick from the A63″.” That did not explain why he then felt the need to changes his clothes at his ex-wife’s home, before going on a 130-mile journey to Birmingham, where his mother lived. After changing his clothes, he took a “long route” to rejoin the A63 “in order to avoid the collision site”.

Even Finn’s barrister, Gary Bell QC, said he had behaved with “cowardice”.

Finn’s ex-wife became “suspicious” when she saw the next morning his bed had not been slept in, his car was gone, and, having heard about a hit and run, contacted police. Mr Bell said: “He is a broken man, but he has been broken by himself and he accepts that.”

Finn admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident, and drink-driving. He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Cyclist runs red and pays the price

Open top tourist bus flies off the side of a hill killing nine people and injuring 40 others during a sightseeing trip of Peru’s capital

12 July 2017

A horrifying video has emerged showing a bus plough off the side of a hill in Peru in a crash which claimed the lives of at least nine people. The tragedy happened during a sightseeing tour in capital city Lima on Sunday.

The bus driver, identified as Goytzon Bravo Tocas in the Peruvian press, has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter, the Andina news agency reports.

The video captures the horrifying moment the bus ploughed off the side of the hill, in a tragedy which claimed at least nine lives and injured more than 40 people

The bus driver, identified as Goytzon Bravo Tocas in the Peruvian press, has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter

Among the dead was Alexander Condori, an 18-year-old who was enjoying a family outing with his parents and three siblings, El Comercio reports.

Also killed was 63-year-old Eladia Ruiz, the newspaper states. Officials in Lima have revealed that two of the dead were Peruvian, but the nationality of the others who died is not yet known. Firefighter Cesar Suito said a Canadian and a Chilean are among those injured in the bus.

Bills of U.S. dollars are placed over the body of a tourist after they were found in pockets of her clothes as rescue workers and policemen work the scene of a deadly bus accident in Lima. As well as the nine fatalities, a further 25 people were injured in the crash which happened yesterday evening

Investigators believe the bus may have been travelling at excessive speed when the driver lost control

Peru’s Ministry of Health says the accident Sunday night happened about a mile from the presidential palace in Lima. Its statement says the local bus was driving on San Cristobal hill to give the passengers a panoramic view of the city. The ministry says the bus appears to have been moving at excessive speed.

Oil truck explosion kills 132 people in Pakistan

An oil tanker crashed on a road in Pakistan on Sunday and 132 people, many of whom had rushed to collect leaking fuel, were killed when it exploded, apparently after someone lit a cigarette, officials said.

The tanker overturned on a sharp bend on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Bahawalpur. The driver lost control when the vehicle blew a tire, a provincial government spokesman said. A large crowd of people gathered, many to collect fuel in containers, and the tanker exploded in a huge fireball about 45 minutes later. Rescue workers said about 80 people had been injured.

“People of the area and passersby had started gathering fuel when it exploded, burning everybody,” provincial government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan told Reuters. An estimated 20 children were among the dead, he said.

David Ardron was mowed down by Paul Zagar in August 2015

A HIT AND RUN driver will face jail for causing the death of a Bracknell man.

David Ardron, 68, from Bracknell, was cycling north on Bagshot road at 10.10am on Wednesday, August 19, 2015, when he was hit from behind by a car.

Paul Zagar, 41, from Weybridge, Surrey, drove his Audi A3 into Mr Ardron, knocking him off the bicycle.

Mr Ardron (photo below) died at the scene and Mr Zagar failed to stop or report the collision. He was arrested by officers later that day.

Mr Zagar was found guilty by a jury of the charge at Reading Crown Court following a two week trial.

He was also sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for eight years and will be required to take an extended retest.

Senior investigating officer, Det Sgt Ashley Hannibal of Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Ardron, who have been waiting for this case to conclude.

“On the morning of August 19, 2015, for an unknown reason, Zagar failed to pay full attention to the road with the tragic consequences for Mr Ardron and his family.

“In this case the tragedy was made worse by the fact that having failed to pay attention to the road, Zagar then failed to stop or report the collision to the emergency services.

“This case serves as a reminder to all motorists that whenever anyone drives they are responsible for their own safety and for the safety of other road users.”

Malaysia: Over one-third of traffic accidents linked to cellphone usage

20th June 2017

YAN, 20 June 2017:

Using mobile phones while driving has caused 35% of accidents in Kedah, said state police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff. He said such an act could also slow down traffic as it could distract a person when behind the wheel.

“The risk might be low if a driver is using the hands-free device but the use of mobile phones can cause traffic to slow down. In fact, it can result in accidents.”

After launching the Kedah-level integrated operations, dubbed ‘Op Selamat’ 11/2017 in conjunction with the Aidilfitri celebration yesterday, Asri said 54 locations in the state had been identified as ‘hotspots’ (accident-prone) areas during the operation which would run until July 2.

“We have targeted to reduce accidents this year by 5%. The number of accidents in the state during last year’s Op Selamat was 1,201 cases, namely an increase of 11 cases from the previous year.”

Asri also reminded members of the public to inform the police via the ‘balik kampung’ information form to ensure the safety of their homes, before leaving to their respective hometowns to celebrate Aidilfitri.

The forms can be obtained at the nearest police station or downloaded from the Royal Malaysia Police official website.

Alternatively, the form can be filled via the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol application available on Google Play Store and App Store.

The Road Transport Department (RTD) will station 38 Enforcement Based Stations (EBS) along all major highways to ensure monitoring can be carried out continuously and comprehensively during Hari Raya Aidilfitri this year.

RTD director-general Datuk Seri Nadzri Siron said the EBS are check-points to ensure RTD personnel conducted patrols along the routes which are identified as accident-prone.

”Other than becoming check-points for the personnel, EBS will also become inspection areas if the patrol team detected motorists committing offences.

“We will also issue summonses at EBS if the vehicles stopped by the patrolmen had committed offences.”

Nadzri said 3,128 officers and personnel would be on duty during the 2017 Ops HRA until July 2. “We are increasing our manpower by 1,128 people compared to only 2,000 officers and personnel working during the festive season last year.”

Perak police will mobilise a total of 597 units of Mobile Patrol Vehicle (MPV) and Motorcycle Patrol (URB) to prevent and combat crimes in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.

State police deputy chief, Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said the police would increase patrols in public places around the state such as banks, bus terminals, train stations and shopping centres to strengthen its crime prevention efforts.

“This step is important to prevent and combat crime at the maximum level, reducing the opportunity for crime and increasing the sense of security of society.”

Zainuddin also said the public could obtain ‘balik kampung’ forms at the nearest police station as well as from personnel from MPV and URB units.

Saudi official kills a biker as he opens his £100,000 Porsche car door in a cycle lane in Berlin but escapes prosecution due to diplomatic immunity

Saudi Arabian diplomat opened his door while parked in a cycling lane

Cyclist collided with the door of the diplomat’s £100,000 Porsche and died

Identified only as Michael E., aged 55, his family are demanding justice

A Saudi Arabian diplomat has escaped prosecution after he opened his door while parked in a cycling lane and killed a passing biker.

The cyclist landed on his head after colliding with the door of the diplomat’s £100,000 Porsche.

Identified only as Michael E., aged 55, his family are demanding justice. His wife Marina, 53, said: ‘It cannot be right that someone can take a life like this and get away with it. It means nothing to me that he is diplomat. He should receive the correct punishment.’ But a spokesman for Berlin police said after Tuesday’s accident: ‘Our hands are tied. We cannot take away his diplomatic immunity. ‘

The cyclist landed on his head after colliding with the door of the Saudi Arabian diplomat’s £100,000 Porsche Hundreds of bikers led by the mayor of the Berlin district of Neukölln arrived at the spot where roofer Michael died on Thursday evening to light candles and lay flowers.

A spokesman for the German foreign office said a note had been sent to the Saudi Arabian embassy asking for clarification about the diplomat and his role at the embassy.

The Saudis said in a statement from the embassy; ‘It was with great dismay that we learned of the tragic accident. We are in close contact with the foreign office. On behalf of the Saudi Embassy, we would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the departed family members of the deceased. ‘

A spokesman for the German foreign office said a note had been sent to the Saudi Arabian embassy asking for clarification about the diplomat and his role at the embassy. Popular daily Bild on Friday asked its readers to vote on whether diplomats should continue to enjoy immunity and said: ‘If the investigation results in the guilt of the diplomat he must lose his job at the embvassy and be sent back to to Saudi Arabia.

‘Supposedly the embassy is planning a zero-tolerance policy towards Saudi Arabian diplomats who violate the rules of transport here. ‘ Diplomats of all nations violated traffic rules in Berlin nearly 23,000 times in 2016, according to official figures.

Comment. Time for a change in the law. Diplomats should show an even greater respect and care in another country. When in Rome do as the Romans…..if not take their justice – Ed

UK: Driver is killed after his car was crushed to just one metre long when it was sandwiched between two lorries in a horror motorway crash

Man died after smashing his car into the back of a lorry on the M3

His car was crushed to a quarter of its length by force of collision

Horrific crash took place near Junction 10 at Bar End, Hampshire

6th June 2017

A man was crushed to death after his car was sandwiched between two lorries during a horror crash on the M3. The driver became wedged between the HGVs after smashing his car into the back of one, near Junction 10 at Bar End, Hampshire, it is believed.

Such was the force of the collision that the man’s car was reduced to a quarter of its size, eye-witnesses said.

The motorway was closed in both directions following the dramatic triple crash, which reduced the black car to about a metre in length.

A red tarpaulin was seen draped over the driver’s side of the vehicle after emergency crews were called to the scene at 10.25am. At least five ambulances rushed to the collision between junction nine and 10, as well as an air ambulance, fire engine and several police cars.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We are currently dealing with a serious collision on the M3 northbound. ‘As a result, all three lanes of the northbound carriageway between junctions nine and 10 will remain closed for the rest of the afternoon. The southbound carriageway is also currently closed to provide access to ambulance services. This will be re-opened as soon as possible.

Pictured: Police work at the scene of the horror crash near junction 10 at Bar End, Hampshire.

Accident involved a small lorry and five buses carrying 200 passengers

Image Credit: Sabq

Image Credit: Sabq

Manama: A multi-bus crash has left six people dead and at least 65 injured on the highway between Madina in western Saudi Arabia and Al Qassim in the heartland of the vast kingdom.

Reports said that the accident occurred late on Friday and involved a small lorry and five buses. A traffic source told Saudi news site Sabq that the driver of the lorry opted to park on the side of the highway after the terrible wind conditions reduced visibility drastically and prevented him from seeing his way ahead.

A car reportedly smashed into the back of the lorry, followed by buses.

Abdul Aziz Al Tamimi, a spokesperson for the civil defence in Qassim, said that some of the passengers were treated on the spot while the others were transported to different hospitals.

“As we offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, we wish speedy recovery for the injured and we reiterate our warnings to drivers to exercise the highest levels of caution during adverse weather conditions,” Al Tamimi said.

No details about the nationality of the passengers, believed to number around 200, was available

In sharp contrast to over 750 people dying in road accidents in the city last year, Malleswaram traffic police set an example by bringing down the number of fatal accidents in the area to nil.

According to the Malleswaram Police, the last fatal accident reported in their jurisdiction was in July 2016. This achievement can be attributed to effective measures taken by the traffic jurisdiction. The efforts include installing a few sign boards at the accident–prone spots in the area.

Banners like ‘Beware of Wall’ on Harischandra Ghat Compound Wall, grills on central median on MB Junction and zig-zag barricades to keep speeding vehicles in check are few of the tricks that have proven useful for the cops.

While the project began in 2015, the efforts bore fruit when the cops recorded no accidents from July 19, 2017. The team, under the guidance of traffic inspector BP Nagaraj, analysed statistics to identify accident-prone areas. They realised that most of the victims were either pedestrians or bikers.

Strategies were materialised after mapping the data, and after two years of struggle, the team succeeded in preventing the accidents.

Search resumes for 4 missing as India bus plunge kills 20

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW DELHI — May 24, 2017

Rescuers on Wednesday found another three bodies as they resumed searching for people missing after a bus plunged into a river in mountainous northern India, killing at least 20 Hindu pilgrims.

Police officer Mahadev Uniyal said that rescuers recovered 19 bodies and one person died in a hospital. Six people who were injured in Tuesday’s crash were still hospitalized.

The search had been halted late Tuesday but resumed in the morning. Four people were still unaccounted for, said Ashish Chauhan, a National Disaster Response Force official.

The bus plunged around 150 meters (380 feet) into a river in Uttarakhand state, 400 kilometers (250 miles) northeast of New Delhi. The cause of the accident wasn’t known.

Uttarakhand is a popular summer vacation destination for tourists seeking to escape the torrid heat of India’s plains. It is also a religious pilgrimage site with four temple towns in the Garhwal Himalayan range.

More than 110,000 people are killed annually on India’s roads. Most crashes are attributed to reckless driving, poorly maintained roads or aging vehicles.

Get Home Safe event aims to reduce traffic accidents

MAY 17, 2017 Viet Nam News

Truck drivers, local police and transportation professionals speak about safe driving skills at the Get Home Safe event held on Monday in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province. – Photo courtesy of AIP Foundation

BÀ RỊA-VŨNG TÀU – The Get Home Safe event, held on Monday to raise awareness about traffic regulations, featured a six-minute video about the fatal consequences caused by motorbike and truck drivers who fail to obey traffic rules.

The video sent two key messages: a road crash can happen in the blink of an eye and lives are saved when drivers slow down. Lê Văn Đức of Đồng Nai Province, a truck driver at Cái Mép International Terminal (CMIT), said that he was impressed by the video. “The video reminds me to drive in the right lane,” he said. “Also, I should drive at the required speed and obey the right of way before making a turn.”

The Get Home Safe event, held in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu Province, was held to raise community awareness about the importance of following traffic regulations, Vũ Quý Phi, deputy chief secretariat of National Traffic Safety Committee, said.

In Việt Nam, 24 people die and 60 are injured in traffic accidents each day, Phi said.

More than 3,000 attendees at the event participated in road-safety interactive games and watched informative comedic performances. Truck drivers, local police and transportation professionals spoke about safe driving skills at the event, which is part of the Lifting Safety programme held by the National Traffic Safety Committee in co-operation with the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation and APM Terminals, an international terminal operator based in the Netherlands with facilities in 69 countries.

In the Lifting Safety programme in December 2016, the AIP Foundation distributed educational booklets to truck drivers. The AIP foundation team is preparing to install environmental modifications, including rumble strips and traffic lights, on major highways close to the CMIT facility. – VNS

Poor state of roads also to be blamed for accidents

Tue, 16 May 2017

Thousands die every year in road accidents in Delhi but there is no accountability as the exact reasons for these are never revealed. Police investigation into an accident seldom focuses on ascertaining the cause of the accident; the default assumption is that it was the driver’s fault.

Monday’s incident, in which three young were killed and four were critically injured when their car fell off a flyover is a chilling reminder that road safety is one of the most critical factors in a Delhiite’s life.

Other than the criminal liability of driver’s negligence or drunk driving, where the charges can be more severe, there is a road engineering and traffic management angle that also needs to be probed in accidents.

At the end of 2016, there were more than 96 lakh vehicles registered in Delhi. In addition, the city sees a sizeable daily influx of vehicles from outside the Capital. With a road length of 33,000 km, Delhi has only 864 intersections that have traffic signals and only 418 blinkers at crossings.

Many accidents take place due to these lacunae in road engineering but it is never highlighted in police investigations. Poor road design and faulty signages also contribute to crashes, but again this is never taken into account.

While the number of fatalities has come down from 2,153 in 2010 to 1,591 in 2016 the numbers are still high enough for alarm. What’s more, not all of them are because of driver error.

Italy, Saudi Arabia: Speed Cams Taken Out By Gunfire, Accidents

A speed camera van was involved in a three-car injury crash in Rome, Italy last week Monday. Il Messaggero reported that two police officers had set up a mobile speed trap at 10:30am on the Via Leone XIII. A van saw the camera and slammed on its brakes to avoid receiving a citation. The Fiat Panda following behind did not stop in time, and the resulting collision knocked one of the vehicles into the police car. Two officers were rushed to local hospitals with serious injuries.

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe bus fell from the cliffside road to another stretch below

At least 20 people have died after a tourist bus fell from a cliff near the southern Turkey seaside resort of Marmaris. Another 11 were injured when the driver lost control of the minibus and ploughed through a crash barrier.

Local media said no foreign tourists were among the passengers. About 40 people were on board, according to Amric Cicek, governor of Mugla province, who suggested the brakes may have stopped working.

But the mayor of Marmaris, Ali Acar, told Turkish newspaper Hurriyet: “I think that the accident was a result of driver error.” Other media reports said the victims were mainly women and children.

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionRescue workers attended the scene of the crash

Turkey’s Andalou news agency said the crash took place on the Mugla-Antalya road at the Sakar Gecidi pass. The vehicle landed on another section of road below after it went through the crash barrier. Rescue teams were dispatched and the injured were taken to hospital, Andalou said.

10 South Korean children die in fiery China bus crash

2017-05-09

Beijing – Ten South Korean kindergarten pupils and two others were killed when a school bus crashed and burst into flames in a tunnel in eastern China on Tuesday, officials and reports said.

The children were aged between four and seven and lived in the city of Weihai in Shandong province where the accident happened, a South Korean consular official in the city of Qingdao told AFP.The Weihai propaganda department said on a microblogging website that 12 people had died and another person was seriously injured. Officials did not immediately give the nationality of the two others killed and the injured person. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing its embassy in Beijing, said the two other fatalities were a Chinese child and the driver, while the injured person was a teacher.The bus burst into flames in the tunnel at around 9:00 am, according to Xinhua news agency. The cause of the crash was under investigation.An amateur video posted by the People’s Daily on its Twitter account shows cars driving away from the bus, which was stopped near a wall as flames reached the tunnel’s ceiling. The video’s authenticity could not be immediately verified.The students attended a kindergarten affiliated with an international school that largely caters to South Koreans, according to Yonhap.South Korea’s Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn voiced “grave sadness” over the tragedy, which occurred as the country went to the polls to elect a news president. Hwang told the foreign ministry to mobilise “all diplomatic resources” to handle the accident and keep the parents of the young victims informed of any developments.58 000 road deaths Deadly road accidents are common in China, where traffic regulations are often flouted or go unenforced by police.There were more than 180,000 traffic accidents and 58 000 deaths in 2015, authorities said in December.The country’s frequently overcrowded long-distance buses are particularly prone to high fatalities.Ten people were killed and 38 injured in March when a bus collided with a cement truck in the southwestern province of Yunnan.At least 18 people were killed when a minibus plunged into a lake in the central city of Wuhan in December.Last November, a pile-up on an expressway in the northern province of Shanxi killed 17 people and damaged 56 vehicles.

18 passengers injured in bus accident in Phetchabun

The accident happened at about 5.40am on Lomsak-Chumphae Road in Phetchabun’s Namnao district.

Police said 15 injured passengers were taken to Namnao Hospital and three others were taken to Chumphae Hospital.

The bus driver told police he lost control when the bus was entering the uphill curve on the Namnao mountain, causing it to veer off the road and flip.

UK: Learner driver fails test after instructor’s car stopped

7th May 2017

Image copyrightWEST MIDLANDS POLICEImage captionPolice seized the car which had no insurance or MOT

A learner driver was on course to pass her test – until the instructor’s uninsured car was stopped by police. The learner and examiner were pulled over during a driving test in Tile Cross, east Birmingham, on Saturday.

West Midlands Police checked the car and found it also had no MOT. They later seized the car. The force’s road policing unit said the student would have passed the test had it not been interrupted, as no mistakes had been recorded.

The driving examiner and student were taken back to the test centre, where the driving instructor was questioned by police.

The 46-year-old admitted knowing the car was not insured but denied knowing the car had no MOT, said police. Police seized the car and took the driving instructors’ badge. She was reported to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and will need to provide valid insurance and MOT documents to police at a later date.

Image copyrightWEST MIDLANDS POLICEImage captionThe car was pulled over and the driving test had to be cancelled

Traffic Accidents Among Leading Causes of Death in Iran

Thursday, May 04, 2017

Iran has one of the highest rates of road accidents in the world. Annually over 20,000 and people are killed and 800,000 people are injured in road crashes, with men comprising 75% of the figure, and mostly in the age group 25-40.

Road accidents are the reason behind 40% of deaths among people of Tehran, and it is highest in District 6, located in downtown, said the head of Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center affiliated to Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University.

“Fatal accidents involving pedestrians has increased over the past few years in the capital city,” Hamid Souri was quoted by Mehr News Agency as saying at a function on the occasion of the upcoming Fourth UN Global Road Safety Week (May 8-14).

The Safety Week will focus on vehicle speed and what can be done to address this key risk factor for road traffic deaths and injuries. High speed contributes to around one-third of all fatal road traffic crashes in high-income countries, and up to half in low- and middle-income countries.

“Road accidents are the third leading cause of death in the country… they also account for the highest years of potential life lost (YPLL) in Iran, which is an estimate of the average years a person would have lived if he or she had not died prematurely,” says Dr Iraj Harirchi, deputy minister of health.

About one-third of all road traffic deaths occur among young adults under the age of 30.

The regular pattern of traffic accident rates in some provinces indicates that provincial roads (especially in Fars, Khorasan Razavi, Tehran provinces) are not safe for driving.

About 60 to 65% of road accidents occur near cities rather than on highways and freeways,

Measures to Reduce Traffic Deaths in Iran

Based on figures released by the Traffic Control Information Center, human error like negligent driving (ignoring traffic lane discipline) or hogging the road and not giving way to drivers wanting to overtake, are the main reasons for 64% of the accidents. Dangerous roads and low-quality vehicles also are responsible for the road crashes and cutting down innocent lives.

“In order to enhance the safety of the Kazeroun-Bushehr road, which links Kazeroun in the southwest Fars Province to Bushehr, the capital of the southern Bushehr Province, we have established two police stations along the route,” said Colonel Ahmed Ahmadi, traffic police chief of the northern division of Fars Province.

Other safety measures are also being developed by traffic police to reduce road crashes on Kazeroun-Shiraz and Kazeroun-Farashband roads. The road which connects Kazeroun and Shiraz has the highest rates of road crashes in the province.

The 160-km Chalus Road which connects Tehran via Karaj to the popular northern tourist resorts in Mazandaran Province and runs through the Alborz mountain range is another dangerous winding road.

Mehdi Mehrvar, director general of Alborz Province Crisis Management Office, said 60 accident points (prone to avalanche and landslides) have been identified along the road and “safety measures will be taken soon to address the problems.”

Boulevards and highways in the bigger cities (in particular Tehran) also have a record 17% and 13% of traffic accidents, respectively.

The winding Imam Ali Expressway, which links Artesh Expressway in the north to Ayatollah Madani Street in the south, is said to be one of the most precarious highways in the capital that is home to 12 million people. According to Tehran Traffic Police, drivers using the expressway are obliged to reduce speed to 80 km/h.

In the past two years, 2,200 new surveillance cameras were installed across the country to increase monitoring of arterial suburban roads to 30,000 km from 5,000 km in 2015. The cameras can record seven different types of violations (5 types in cities and 2 on suburban roads).

Additionally, cameras installed on the two main northern roadways of Chalus and Haraz, are able to record overtaking from the wrong side and other deviations.

Smart cameras have been installed on police cars patrols in city streets which capture violations and penalize offenders.

Also, some road surveillance cameras have been upgraded to ensure better performance in recording traffic violations.

Minibus plunges into ravine, killing 11 in Pakistan

2nd May 2017

Peshawar – Pakistani police say a minibus has plunged into a ravine in the mountainous northwest, killing 11 people.

Police official Ismail Khan says another nine people were injured in the Sunday road accident in the Upper Dir district. He said the road was slippery after rain.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan due to a lack of infrastructure, poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

Traffic Accidents Killed 9,000, Seriously Injured Thousands More in Vietnam Last Year

28th April 2017 Written by Saigoneer.

In Vietnam, traffic accidents remain one of the leading causes of deaths, but the country still hasn’t done enough to stress the importance of road safety to its citizens.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently held a meeting on Vietnam’s traffic situation in collaboration with relevant government agencies and NGOs, reports Dan Tri.

At the conference, the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) revealed that in 2016, about 9,000 lives were lost to traffic-related accidents, while tens of thousands more suffered injuries from street collisions.

“Every year in Vietnam, the lives of thousands of families are torn apart by the loss of a child to a road accident that could have been prevented,” Jesper Moller, acting UNICEF Representative, said at the event.

Age-wise, traffic accidents were the second most-common cause of death and injury among children, causing 27% of fatalities last year in the 0-19 age group. When only teenagers aged 15-19 are considered, the situation is even more alarming, as 50% of fatalities among teens were due to road accidents; the leading cause of death for this demographic.

“Speeding is a major risk factor for road traffic crashes in Vietnam,” Wai said, according to the news source. “By slowing down, observing speed limits appropriate for the roads and not speeding, we make roads safer for all. Reducing the average speed by just 5 kilometers per hour can help cut fatal accidents by 30%.”

The United Nations has been lobbying for stricter enforcement of speed limits in Vietnam. The organization also strongly recommended a reduction in nation-wide speed limits to 50 kilometers per hour in urban areas and 30 kilometers per hour in densely populated neighborhoods such as school zones and residential areas where children, pedestrians and cyclists are concentrated.

A dashcam has captured the scary moment a car and trailer were wiped out after the driver ran a red light and was hit by an oncoming bus in Australia.

Scores dead as bus falls into gorge in northern India

20th April 2017

New Delhi – Forty-four people were killed after a bus swerved off a mountain road and plunged into a deep gorge in northern India’s Himachal Pradesh state on Wednesday, a senior government official said.

Only two people, including the ticket checker, survived the crash, according to Rohan Chand Thakur, the district magistrate of Shimla district.Thakur said the bus fell into a 200m deep gorge on the Tons River. The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately clear.He said that rescue teams were working to recover the wreckage from the gorge.Driver fatigue, negligence, poor quality roads and vehicle maintenance are the usual causes of such accidents in India.Police figures show India has the world’s highest road accident death toll, with more than 110 000 people dying each year in crashes.

Passengers scream as bus plunges in Philippines, killing 31

By TERESA CEROJANO Associated Press 19th April 2017

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Passengers were screaming in horror as the bus driver repeatedly hit the brakes, shouting they weren’t working, before the vehicle plunged into a ravine in the northern Philippines, killing at least 31 people in one of the country’s deadliest recent crashes, officials said Wednesday.

The 46 passengers injured in Tuesday’s crash were retrieved by rescuers who struggled with ropes to descend down the 24-meter (80-foot) deep ravine to reach the wreckage in Nueva Ecija province’s Carranglan town, said Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, the provincial police chief.

He said at least 77 people were on board the vehicle based on the number of dead and injured, but rescuers returned to the crash site Wednesday morning to look in the grassy area for other possible victims.

A survivor who jumped out the door before the bus plunged said “the driver was shouting, saying the brakes were not working and he has lost control of the bus,” Yarra said in a telephone interview.

Many of the passengers were hospitalized with serious injuries and parents were separated from their children in the confusion, officials said.

“One child here sat beside her mother. The mother was dead,” said Dr. Napoleon Obana of the Veterans Regional Hospital, where some of the victims were taken.

TV footage showed a line of rescuers and villagers, some holding onto a rope to climb up on a grassy slope with a victim on a stretcher. A throng of villagers waited in a clearing above them to help pull the victim to safety.

Passenger Ralph Raymond Grajo said he saw the driver repeatedly stepping on the malfunctioning brakes as the wayward bus was speeding along a downhill road. The driver attempted to steer the bus to the right, but roadside houses made him veer back in the direction of the ravine as horrified passengers watched, Grajo said.

“All the passengers were screaming and somebody in front me told everybody ‘Don’t panic,’ but many were already gripped by panic,” Grajo told DZMM radio network.

Grajo apparently fell out of the bus as it rolled down the ravine and regained consciousness away from the wreckage with injuries to his feet and arms. He said he was among the first to be rescued and brought to a hospital.

Yarra said the driver was among the dead, and that four survivors were in critical condition.

The spot along the road is accident-prone. Tuesday’s crash was the sixth in the area in recent years, a local village official told DZMM.

The impact from the plunge ripped the bus, which could no longer be distinguished at the bottom of the ravine, said Nueva Ecija’s police chief Antonio Yarra. He said investigators could not yet talk to the stunned and injured survivors.

Carranglan police chief Robert de Guzman said the bus from northern Isabela province was on its way to Ilocos Sur, a tobacco- and rice-growing region also in the mountainous northern Philippines, when it crashed shortly before noon in Nueva Ecija, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Manila.

Poorly maintained passenger buses, inadequate road safety features and weak enforcement of local transport laws have been blamed for many vehicular accidents in the Philippines.

In February, a sightseeing bus carrying college students on a camping trip lost its brakes on a steep downhill road and smashed into a concrete electrical post in Tanay town in Rizal province east of Manila, killing 15 people.

Roadside memorials a tricky matter for mourners, officials

18th April 2017

A car passes a roadside memorial in the American state of New Jersey as officials raise concern as they become more common. (Julio Cortez, AP)

Trenton – A move to regulate roadside memorials in the American state of New Jersey can be fraught with peril for elected officials.They cite the need to set standards for the makeshift sites that appear after people are killed in crashes, fearing the memorials will become eyesores or traffic hazards. But they also have to balance those public concerns with sensitivity for those dealing with a loss.New Jersey is the latest state to consider regulations for memorials. A bill making its way through the state legislature will allow a victim’s relative to pay for a sign honouring the person who died and set certain specifications for the markers.Some residents have questioned the move, saying this is a personal issue that government leaders should stay away from, unless there are overwhelming public safety concerns.

Africa in UK. Drunk mum flipped car 14ft after crashing with baby in back seat

Tania Chikwature, 32, was three times over the limit when she crashed her grey Nissan Qashqai on the A606 outside Peterborough on December 12.

This is the shocking moment a drunk mother flipped her car at a roundabout while her young son was in the back seat. Her 19-month-old son survived the accident and was found hanging upside down in his car seat.

Chikwature refused to provide a breath sample at the scene and police only discovered she was three times over the limit when they took a blood test five hours later. She produced an alcohol reading of 156 mgs – the legal limit is 80. She admitted dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Magistrates in Peterborough jailed Chikwature, from Butterfly Walk, Henley Green, for 26 weeks and ordered her to pay a victim surcharge of £115. She also receive a three-year driving ban. Chikwature injuries were not revealed.

Three killed as a bus carrying 50 school children en route to a ski trip flips on a road in northern Sweden

The children and six adults were mainly asleep when the bus began ‘rolling’

Around 28 people were injured, six seriously and 19 others moderately

Happened close to town of Sveg, 260 miles northwest of the capital, Stockholm

Three people were killed when a bus carrying around 50 school children and six adults rolled over on a road in northern Sweden on Sunday.

The children were en route to a ski trip and mainly asleep when the accident happened at around 7am local time.

The cause of the accident is not known. There had been reports the road was icy but these were denied by an official.

Three people were killed when a bus carrying around 50 school children and a few adults rolled over on a road in northern Sweden on Sunday. Pictured: Scene of the accident

The bus was en route to a ski resort and most passengers were asleep as the vehicle began ‘rolling around’

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said: ‘These were young people on their way to a ski trip that ended in disaster’

Around 28 people were injured according to daily Expressen. Six had serious injuries while 19 others were moderately harmed.

‘We know they drove off the road. We don’t know much more than that at this point,’ police spokeswoman Marie Andersson said.

The accident occurred close to the town of Sveg, 260 miles northwest of the capital, Stockholm, in the northern region of Harjedalen.

The bus was en route to a ski resort and most passengers were asleep as the vehicle began ‘rolling around’. Pictures showed the bus lying on its side in a ditch beside the road. Emergency services had feared people might have been trapped under the wreckage but this turned out not to be the case.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said: ‘These were young people on their way to a ski trip that ended in disaster.

‘My thoughts are with the injured, the parents, relatives and friends – those who received notice and of those who do not yet know how it happened. He added: ‘My thoughts are with the injured, the parents, relatives and friends – those who received notice and of those who do not yet know how it happened’

Casualties were taken to hospitals in nearby Ostersund, while others went to Mora and Falun

The accident occurred close to the town of Sveg, 260 miles northwest of the capital, Stockholm, in the northern region of Harjedalen

The grief is inexpressible for those who reached the news of a death. We are with you.

‘The pain is unbearable for those who have not yet been told. We are thinking of you. Rescue work is ongoing and we are following developments closely.’

Casualties were taken to hospitals in nearby Ostersund, while others went to Mora and Falun.

The untouchable Red Bull heir in Thailand

Image captionMore than four years on, Vorayuth Yoovidhaya has not appeared in court

Among the many uncertainties hanging over Thailand as it is steered hesitantly through a delicate political transition, its people could be sure of one thing this week.

That Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, the grandson of the billionaire who invented the energy drink Red Bull, would once again fail to appear at a Bangkok prosecutor’s office to face charges relating to the death of a police officer.

On 3 September 2012, that officer was struck by a Ferrari driven by Mr Vorayuth.

The sometimes farcical attempts by the Thai authorities to bring Mr Vorayuth to justice are now commonly cited as epitomising the untouchability of the super-rich in Thailand.

The facts of the incident early on the morning of 3 September are reasonably clear.

Police Sergeant-Major Wichian Klanprasert was riding his motorbike along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road when he was hit by a grey Ferrari, which dragged his body more than 100m (109yds) down the road, before driving off.

Investigating officers followed a trail of brake fluid to a luxury home less than a kilometre away, owned by one of Thailand’s wealthiest families.

The badly-dented Ferrari was there, but initially the police were persuaded to detain a driver employed by the family as their main suspect.

When they subsequently discovered the car had actually been driven by Mr Vorayuth, then 27 years old, he was tested and found to have excessive alcohol in his blood – but, he said, this was from drinking at home after the accident.

Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe badly-dented Ferrari was found in the compound of the family’s home

The police believe from security camera videos, the distance the car travelled after the crash, and the injuries that instantly killed Sergeant-Major Wichian, that Mr Vorayuth must have been speeding, they estimate at around 170km/h (106mph) in an 80km/h zone. His lawyers have denied this.

It took the police six months to prepare criminal charges of speeding, reckless driving causing death, and fleeing the scene of an accident.

Throughout 2013, Mr Vorayuth failed to appear seven times to hear the charges, with his lawyers providing an array of justifications, from him being on business overseas to feeling unwell.

In September 2013 the limitation period for the speeding charge expired.

Mr Vorayuth’s grandfather, Chaleo Yoovidhya, made his fortune when, in the mid-1980s, he teamed up with an Austrian marketing executive to turn his energy drink known as Kratindaeng, or Red Bull, into a global sales success.

Today the extended Yoovidhya family is believed to be worth more than $20bn (£16bn). The Red Bull logo is now seen all over the world, in particular sponsoring spectacular stunts and sporting events.

But the family has shunned the limelight; before his death in March 2012 Chaleo Yoovidhya never gave a single media interview. After the accident, his grandson, Mr Vorayuth, vanished from public view.

But social media posts by him and his jet-setting friends suggest he has often been inside Thailand, as well as travelling around the world to motor racing competitions or beach resorts.

Right after the accident the police chief of Bangkok at that time, Kamronwit Thoopkrajang, promised the public that the culprit in Sergeant-Major Wichian’s death would be brought to justice, or he would resign.

In April 2013 the attorney-general promised to indict Mr Vorayuth, only to backtrack after he was petitioned by the suspect’s lawyers, who contested the fairness of the speeding charge.

In September 2013 the prosecutor ordered police to arrest him after his seventh no-show. Nothing happened.

Then, against a backdrop of growing political turmoil in Thailand, the case appeared to be forgotten.

Public interest in it was revived only after a horrifying road accident last year, involving another wealthy young man who drove his luxury car at high speed into another vehicle, killing two graduate students.

People started asking what had happened to the Red Bull heir. And a military government, which had promised to address the abuses of previous governments, felt forced to act. Or, perhaps more accurately, to be seen to be acting.

In March last year the Attorney-General announced that he would once again press charges against Mr Vorayuth.

But throughout last year, his lawyers successfully postponed repeated requests for him to report to the prosecutor’s office, claiming that their client had filed a complaint of unfair treatment to the National Legislative Assembly, the military-appointed parliament.

Lawyers spoken to by the BBC say there is no legal justification for using this device to delay proceedings against Mr Vorayuth, but that is what is happening.

‘On business in the UK’

Today the police insist they can do nothing.

Asked why they have not issued an arrest warrant against the accused, as requested three and a half years ago, they told the BBC that it is up to the Attorney-General’s office to act.

The Attorney-General’s office says he cannot be indicted unless he appears in person.

And for the latest request for him to report to the prosecutor’s office to hear those charges? Mr Vorayuth, we are now told by his lawyers, is on business in the UK. The Attorney-General has once again granted a postponement, to next month.

The relatives of Sergeant-Major Wichian have said little about the case. As usually happens in these situations, the Yoovidhya family have paid them a large sum of money, around $100,000.

In return they have agreed not to press charges themselves.

And public interest in Thailand will probably wane, as people wearily conclude that, once again, the rich have shown that they are beyond the reach of the law, in a country ridden with corruption and abuses of power.

One lawyer, who was once closely connected to the case, told the BBC he had never seen another example of a suspect evading justice like this one.

Had it been someone else, without a powerful family behind him, he said, he would certainly have been arrested the first time he failed to report himself.

The most serious charge against Mr Vorayuth, of reckless driving causing death, expires in the year 2027.

Few people are betting that he will face any legal sanction, or indeed any meaningful restrictions on his lifestyle before that deadline frees him completely from any lingering repercussions of the events of that morning four and a half years ago.

13 killed in Texas church bus accident

By Steve Almasy, CNN Updated 0638 GMT (1438 HKT) March 30, 2017

12 victims died at the accident site, official says

An additional victim died at a local hospital

Pastor says church members gathered to pray, wait on word about who diedl

(CNN)Thirteen people travelling in a minibus bringing senior churchgoers back from a retreat were killed Wednesday in a two-vehicle crash in the Texas Hill Country, officials said.

Two people were injured, including the driver of a large white pickup that collided with the bus, said Sgt. Conrad Hein with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It was a really gruesome scene,” motorist Rick Ballesteros of Uvalde, who drove up to the crash site, told CNN affiliate KABB.

Sgt. Orlando Moreno of the public safety department told reporters the 12 people, including the bus driver, died at the scene. The 13th victim died at a San Antonio hospital, about 75 miles away.

The 14th person on the bus is in serious but stable condition, according to the church. The bus was bringing back congregants of the First Baptist Church in New Braunfels from a retreat, the church said on its Facebook page.

Moreno said the bus was traveling south when the northbound pickup truck veered into its lane and hit the bus. The accident happened on a curve where the speed limit is 65, but the cause of the accident is still under investigation, authorities said.

The bus was traveling from Alto Frio Baptist Encampment in Leakey when the accident occurred near Garner State Park, about 7 miles away, on a two-lane section of Highway 83.

2,100 people killed in traffic accidents in Q1

Tuesday, 03/28/2017, 11:57

Traffic accidents have killed 2,100 people and injured 3,800 others in the first three months of 2017, which is a decrease compared to the same period last year.

The National Committee for Traffic Safety said there were 80 fewer deaths, equivalent to a 3.65% drop compared to the same period in 2016, and 687 fewer injuries, down 15.19%.

At 4,800, the total number of traffic accidents was down by 175 cases, or 3.51%, compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

In March, the country saw 1,347 traffic accidents, with 544 deaths and 1,175 injuries, down by 20, 59 and 20, respectively, year-on-year. In the latest accident, on March 26, two people died and 10 others were injured when two coaches collided on a section of National Highway 20 that runs across the Central Highland province of Lam Dong.

In the first quarter of 2017, the traffic police handled 986,714 cases of traffic violations nationwide, with a total administrative fine of around VND593 billion (US$22.2 million). Around 88,000 drivers had their driving licences revoked for breaking traffic rules.

At a teleconference held in Hanoi earlier this month to review traffic safety and to roll out tasks for 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh requested ministries, agencies and localities to work more closely together in order to reduce the number of accidents, deaths and injuries.

Localities nationwide were asked to closely monitor the operations of transport companies specialising in road and internal waterways, especially passenger services. They were also instructed to ensure that traffic infrastructure does not get affected, especially in accident-prone areas on national and local highways and intersections.

This year, Vietnam aims to reduce road and railway accidents by 5 to 10% compared to 2016, and at least 5% of serious accidents involving railways, inland waterways and coaches.

An overloaded van was found to be carrying 74 toddlers kindergarten from home in China’s Henan province. It was so packed that children were found standing next to the driver’s seat

The female teacher(right) was also riding on the van, which belongs to a local kindergarten and is not intended for use as school bus. The discovery was made on Monday morning according to a Wechat post by Nanyang police on March 23. Officers were patrolling the streets of Nanyang City at the time.

They stopped a van after spotting a group of children standing next to the driver’s seat. A video uploaded by Pear Video to Miaopai shows the police counting the number of children found on board the vehicle. The number reaches 74.

They were all pupils from a local kindergarten. A female teacher was also riding in the van.

The school children were lining up outside a car park after being offloaded from an overloaded van. The van belongs to a local kindergarten and is not intended for use as school bus.

The 27 year-old driver, surnamed Yang, confessed to police that the van had only 19 seats but was packed with 76 people including him and the teacher at the time. Yang did not own a school bus driver’s license. He holds a B1 license which only allows him to drive a medium-sized bus. Yang has been arrested for dangerous driving.

In China, only drivers with more than three years’ experience and a clean driving record are eligible to apply for a school bus driver’s license. There have been tragic accidents that involved overloaded school buses in China.

In 2014, eight children and three adults have drowned after an overloaded kindergarten bus swerved off the road to crash into a pond in the southern Hunan province. A similar incident happened in 2015 during which a passenger van, designed to carry 11, slammed into a roadside lake to leaving two children dead and 21 others injured.

UK: Higher speeding fines come into force next month, here’s what you need to know

Higher speeding fines come into force next month, here’s what you need to know. SPEEDING drivers will soon face stricter penalties and much higher fines based on what they earn.

From April 24 2017, new rules come into effect in the UK which will mean offenders could now be charged up to 175% of their weekly income.

Currently in the UK the minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your driving licence while the maximum fine is £1,000 or £2,500 for motorway offences.

But when the new guidelines are brought in next month, those caught driving at more than 101mph in a 70mph speed limit could be disqualified for up to 56 days and get a fine of between 125 and 175 per cent of their relevant weekly income.

Or if you are caught going between 31 and 40mph in a 30mph zone you will get three penalty points and a fine of between 25 and 75 per cent of your weekly income. Currently many drivers get away without points and a fine by paying for a speed awareness course.

It follows tougher penalties being brought in this month for anyone using a mobile phone behind the wheel. The previous penalty of three points and a £100 fine has been doubled to six points and £200.

Why is the law being changed? According to Green Flag, the number of speeding offences has increased 44 per cent in the last five years.

The new sentencing structure has been designed to produce a sufficient deterrent to reduce the number of speeding drivers.

How will this affect me? If you’re a high earner, your fine could be huge.

If a footballer earning £300,000 a week was caught driving at 102mph he could face a fine of more than £500,000.

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old driver who works 40 hours a week on the minimum wage would be subject to a fine of less than £400 for the same speed.

How much will I be fined if I’m caught speeding? The new speeding system is split into three bands which rate the severity of the offence based on the speed limit.

Band A refers to an offence that is between one and 10mph over the stated speed limit. For example a band A speeding offence in a 20mph zone would be from 21mph to 31 mph.

A band B offence is 11mph to 21mph above the stated speed limit and a band C offence is 21 mph and above the stated speed limit. The starting point for a Band A fine is 50% of your weekly wage.

Band B starting point = 100% of your weekly wage

Band C starting point = 150% of your weekly wage rising up to 175%

Car curling tournament in Russia inspired by black ice accidents

20th March 2017

A car curling tournament has been held in the Russian city Yekaterinburg.

During the competition, four teams of 10 people each pushed small Russian-made Oka cars towards a target painted on an ice rink.

Engines, gear boxes and other heavy parts of the vehicles were removed to make them lightweight and to facilitate the curling for competitors.

Every team had nine attempts to get their three cars closest to the centre and could crash their vehicles into one another to gain the upper edge.

“We allocated our force right. We had an excellent strategy: we knew which car to push first and which at the end, and that’s why we won,” Andrey Gubaydullin said.

The idea for the tournament came to the organisers, managers of an insurance company, after a number of car accidents caused by black ice. “In autumn and spring, when there is black ice, something like auto curling happens on the roads,” tournament organiser Galina Kirkach said.

“Once my friends brought me to go curling, and this reminded me of that [black ice]. And an idea came to me to change stones for cars.”

Traffic accidents kill 50 people in Iran in past two days

17th March 2017

Fifty people have been killed and 400 more injured in traffic accidents in Iran in the past two days. The police launched a large-scale operation to reduce the number of accidents on holidays in connection with the Novruz holiday, APA’s Tehran bureau reports.

Iran’s Traffic Police Muhammad Hussein Hamidi the traffic accidents occurred due to fatigue, sleep deprivation, speeding and overtaking. “The number of trips will increase by 20% on holidays. The police launched a large-scale operation and drivers who violate the law will be punished,” he said.The police increased the number of surveillance cameras and control equipment on the streets. Note that, 403 fatal traffic accidents occurred in Iran on Novruz holidays.

The numbers were announced at a ministerial committee meeting to follow up on the implementation of strategic transport projects, where Souob presented the main transport projects under implementation by the ministry, along with their cost, deadlines and progress.

The projects include the regulation of land transport drivers’ professional qualifications, which aims to set up a national system to train truck, public vehicle and school bus drivers in partnership with the private sector.

The minister stated that the government had formed a national assessment and evaluation board to administer training in partnership with the International Road Transport Union and the Arab Union of Land Transport.

The project will contribute to establishing a safe transport system in line with international legislation and is seeking to enhance the credibility of the Jordanian land transport sector, Souob said.

He noted that the GPS project to track public vehicles, currently in its second phase, will help control the use of vehicles, record daily violations and automate transfers and fuel filling orders.

The committee stressed the importance of the Bus Rapid Transit project to connect Amman to Zarqa, pointing out the lack of current proper infrastructure.

The projects also include the development of smart transport systems including a transport information bank, the “land harbours” in Maan and Madonah, and the Amman Civil Airport “Marka”.

Runaway bus ‘kills 34’ in Haitian city of Gonaives

The driver of the passenger bus was reportedly speeding away from the scene of another fatal accident when he careered into a group of musicians during a parade, killing dozens in the city of Gonaives.

Regional civil defence co-ordinator Josepth Faustin said the accident occurred at about 3am on Sunday when the bus first hit two people at a bus stop and then continued into a crowd of people attending a music festival.

It happened in Gonaives, Haiti (Picture: Google maps)

He says angry festival-goers then attacked the bus and tried to burn it. The bus driver fled and is being sought.

At least 34 people have been killed after a runaway bus veered into crowd in the Haitian city of Gonaives, officials say.

The vehicle first knocked over two pedestrians, killing one, French-language media report. The driver then tried to flee the scene.

He rammed the bus into a band of street musicians, leaving dozens dead, according to unconfirmed reports. Gonaives is located 150km (90 miles) north of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The incident on Sunday left dozens of people injured, who were quickly transported to hospital by the emergency services. Witnesses gathered at the scene became hostile after seeing the driver attempt to flee, which caused further deaths and injuries, AFP reports, adding that they then tried to set the vehicle alight.

“The people who were not victims of the accident tried to burn the bus with the passengers inside,” said Faustin Joseph, a civic protection co-ordinator for the Artibonite region. “The bus, the passengers and the driver were all placed into the care of the local authorities”, he added.

The vehicle was travelling to Port-au-Prince when it crashed into a rara parade, a traditional street celebration involving local musicians, in Gonaives, Reuters news agency reports.

China: Lorry sheds its load of BRICKS on a car after losing control on a motorway

A waiting car crumbled as a brick carrier truck crashed to the side road and tilted

The bricks were secured by two transport chains and a blue cover on top

The car was buried by the bricks, not knowing any injuries or casualties

11th March 2017

Dashcam footage posted online today shows bricks flying off from a truck when the driver attempted to pass a silver car on the road.

The accident occurred on March 7 at around 12.23pm however it’s unclear exactly where in China it is. In the footage, the car can be seen completely covered by the bricks.

26 killed, 36 injured in bus accident in Nepal

Updated: Mar 10, 2017 AP, Kathmandu

Accidents involving buses are common in Nepal, with a majority of the incidents blamed on difficult terrain, untrained drivers and old vehicles(Reuters/ Representative image)

At least 26 people died and 36 more were injured when an overcrowded bus veered off a mountain road in Nepal, officials said Friday.Government administrator Krishna Chandra Poudel said the bus plunged off the road Thursday near a village about 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. The bus rolled about 200 meters (650 feet) down a slope before crashing into the Pasagad river.Local villagers helped police and soldiers pull the bodies and the injured from the wreckage.

Poudel said rescue helicopters reached the accident area late Thursday and were able to fly 18 of the injured to a hospital in Nepalgunj city. Another eight injured people were being flown out on Friday but had to wait for the weather to clear up.

The bus was carrying more than 60 passengers while traversing what is considered one of the most dangerous mountainous highways in Nepal.

Accidents in Nepal are mostly blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicle conditions. The country is covered by mountains and the roads are also usually narrow.

Jaguar ad ‘encouraged unsafe driving’ rules watchdog

8 March 2017

Image copyrightJAGUAR LANDROVERImage captionThe Jaguar XE’s infotainment system can show data from a Bluetooth-connected phone

An advertorial article published in the Guardian about a new Jaguar car has been rebuked by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. The regulator said the story was “irresponsible” because it was likely to encourage unsafe driving practices. The text had described drivers using in-built smart technology to check their calendars and use other apps while on the road.

A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said it was “disappointed”. “For all of the connected car technologies we offer our customers, we will always offer what is safe to do whilst driving,” he added. “The hands-free technology in the Jaguar XE has been developed and tested to allow users to put their phone safely and legally away, and give priority to focus on the driving experience.”

Image copyrightJAGUAR LAND ROVERImage captionThe advertorial article was published on 24 September 2016

The ASA acknowledged that using a hands-free mobile phone was not illegal and that the article had stated that the technologies in question could be used “without compromising safety”. But it noted that the UK’s Highway Code states that the use of hands-free kit can be a distraction, and that motorists should stop to make or take calls.

“The advertorial featured the headline claim that ‘drive time is no longer downtime’,” it said in its judgement. “We considered readers would interpret this to mean that drivers could now perform various other tasks while driving.” The ASA also called attention to an “early adopter” of the car interviewed in the piece.

Image copyrightJAGUAR LAND ROVER Image captionJaguar Land Rover said it was disappointed the ASA did not think its safety message was prominent enough

Prof David Bailey was quoted as saying he could use apps through the car’s infotainment system. “If I need to do an interview while I am going somewhere I can do it on the move and don’t have to stop,” he added.

The Aston Business School lecturer was surprised when the BBC told him of the ruling. I was not told that I was being interviewed for an advertorial, and the comments were part of a much longer interview about driverless cars and the future,” he said. “They were certainly not intended to encourage any behaviour that might compromise safety”.

A spokeswoman for the Guardian did not respond to questions about the use of Prof Bailey’s comments, but issued a brief statement. “We received a complaint about the advertorial in question and consequently withdrew the ad and have not republished it,” the statement said.

“We accept the ASA’s ruling.”

The authority has also told Jaguar Land Rover that its future advertising must not encourage drivers to perform tasks that might distract their attention from the road.

New mobile phone law – How UK driving rules are changing and what the fine is

NEW mobile phone laws for using your phone whilst driving come into place today – these are the new rules explained.

Despite it being illegal to use a mobile phone behind the wheel of a car since 2003, thousands of motorists are caught every year. From today, motorists who have had their licences for less than two years will be banned if they use their device just once. This law still applies even if you are stopped at traffic lights, queuing in traffic or if the engine is running.

Using a hands-free device is legal however the RoSPA advise that this should not be attempted when driving.

Drivers caught using their mobile phone behind the wheel will now receive a fine of £200, double the previous charge. The maximum fine a car to motorbike driver could receive is £1,000 if your case goes to court. Bus and HGV drivers could see their fine increasing to £2,500. In addition to the fee, motorists will receive six points on their licence.

Any motorists who has been driving for less than two years will have their licence revoked meaning they will have to apply for a new provisional, and take and pass both the practical and theory driving tests.

New drivers only start with with six points for their first two years of driving meaning getting caught will mean an instant ban. A poll of 1,000 drivers by Leasing Options found that 91 per cent said the new penalties would deter them from using their phone behind the wheel.

Driving is a serious matter and we hope this change in law makes motorists think about their actions. Kate Rock, PR & Corporate Communications Manager

Over 50 per cent of those polled also confessed using their phones while driving in the past.

However, research from Goodyear Tyres UK has shockingly revealed that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of motorists said the risk of being prosecuted would not affect their mobile phone use behind the wheel.

Kate Rock, PR & Corporate Communications Manager, comments: “It’s absolutely imperative that more education is provided to make drivers aware of the potential dangers of the road and the distractions around them, so that safe driving becomes second nature.

Driver’s caught using their phone behind the wheel will be fined £200 and get six points.

“We have found that mobile phone use is still prominent especially in young drivers.”

“Worryingly, our extensive research revealed that 42% of young drivers have admitted to using their mobile phone behind the wheel and almost one-quarter (23%) said the risk of being prosecuted would not affect this. “Driving is a serious matter and we hope this change in law makes motorists think about their actions, to stay focused on the task in hand.” RoSPA believe that the instant ban for new drivers will make them more responsible on the road. Nick Lloyd, road safety manager for RoSPA, said: “Taking your theory and practical driving tests can be an expensive and stressful time, so imagine having to go through it all again for one moment of stupidity.

“We understand how difficult it can be to ignore your mobile phone, but there’s not a single reason that will excuse putting people’s lives at risk, and hopefully these new stricter penalties will mean drivers think twice.”

Italian DJ takes his own life with the press of a button at a Swiss suicide clinic after car crash caused when he bent over to pick up his phone while driving left him paralysed

A top Italian DJ who was left paralysed after a horror car smash has taken his own life at the press of a button at a Swiss suicide clinic. Fabiano Antoniani passed away after he was approved for euthanasia in a facility in the city of Forch, Switzerland this week.

The 40-year-old died surrounded by his family and his girlfriend after he battled for years to have approval from the Italian government to end his own life.

Mr Antoniani was left partially paralysed in 2014 after he was involved in a car crash. He had dropped his phone while driving and bent down to pick it up when he smashed into another car in the accident which changed his life forever.

Top Italian DJ Fabiano Antoniani (pictured) was left paralysed after a horror car smash. He has taken his own life at the press of a button at a Swiss suicide clinic

Fabiano Antoniani (pictured performing) passed away after he was approved for euthanasia in a facility in the city of Forch, Switzerland this week

Mr Antoniani was left partially paralysed in 2014 after he was involved in a car crash. He had dropped his phone while driving and bent down to pick it up when he smashed into another car in the accident which changed his life forever

He campaigned for a change in the law in Italy to allow assisted suicide but the debate was shelved 11 times in Parliament after drawing strong opposition from the Church.

India: 12 people died on the spot, while five succumbed to their injuries at the Nongstoin Civil Hospital

27th Feb 2017

At least 17 people were killed and 62 injured when a truck ferrying them to a church service overturned after hitting a concrete railing in Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills district today. People from three villages — Nginiong, Mawbyrkong and Nongbudum — were travelling in the truck and were on their way to Nonglang village for attending a Synod (church service).

The incident took place around 8.30 AM at Nongspung village, about 11 km away from the district headquarters Nongstoin. “The truck overturned after hitting the railing at the side of the road due to overspeeding,” Superintendent of Police of West Khasi Hills Sylvester Nongtnger said.

Those seriously injured were taken to different hospitals including Shillong Civil Hospital and NEIGRHIMS. People from three villages — Nginiong, Mawbyrkong and Nongbudum — were travelling in the truck and were on their way to Nonglang village for attending a Synod (church service).

Truck rams New Orleans crowd during Mardi Gras parade; 28 injured

The pickup truck hit two cars and then ran into the crowd, witnesses say

The suspect is in custody; police say it appears he was highly intoxicated

(CNN)One man is in custody after an accident at a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans injured at least 28 people, five seriously, officials said.

Police Chief Michael Harrison said the suspect, who was driving a pickup truck that hit two cars before running into the crowd, appeared to be highly intoxicated. Among the injured, the youngest is 3 and the oldest are in their 40s.

None of the injuries was life-threatening, officials said. The incident occurred near the intersection of Orleans and Carrollton Avenues where the Krewe of Endymion parade was underway.

Drunk woman drove for two miles with man in windscreen

A former substance abuse counsellor who drove while drunk for two miles (3.3km) with a pedestrian’s body embedded in her windscreen has been jailed.

Sherri Lynn Wilkins, 55, pleaded no contest to the 2012 hit-and-run murder and was sentenced to 25 years by a California judge. Wilkins only stopped when bystanders confronted her at a traffic light about the half-naked body on her bonnet. The victim, 31-year-old Phillip Moreno, was pronounced dead in hospital.

“After the collision, [Wilkins] drove several miles with Moreno stuck on or in her windshield,” a judge ruled earlier this month. “She did not stop. She did not call 911. Meanwhile, Moreno was in the process of bleeding to death on the hood of her car.”

Prosecutors argued that Wilkins had failed to help Mr Moreno, and swerved her car to try to dislodge his body from her vehicle. Wilkins admitted to drinking three shots of vodka and one beer inside her car before driving home that night through Torrance, in the greater Los Angeles area. During her trial Wilkins claimed that Mr Moreno had seemed to jump in front of her car.

The victim’s family have sued the rehabilitation centre that employed Wilkins, claiming that she had been obviously intoxicated while leading therapy sessions. In a written statement the Twin Town Treatment Center said that the company “had no cause to intrude or challenge her recovery”.

Chief executive David Lisonbee wrote that Wilkins had not been working on the day of the crash, and had not told company management she had been relapsing. Police said that her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of her arrest.

Phillipines: Ten killed in vehicular accidents

Thursday, February 23, 2017 By GLAZYL Y. MASCULINO

TEN persons died in separate road accidents in Negros Island in the past three days.

Ramy Robete, 50, of Purok Bantud, Barangay Pahanocoy, Bacolod City, died after his motorcycle collided with a 10-wheeler truck along the highway in Purok Cosmos, Barangay Calumangan, Bago City Wednesday around 12:40 a.m. The truck loaded with sugarcane was parked by the roadside due to a mechanical problem. Its driver Joebert Absalon, 23, of Purok Cubay, Barangay Inapoy, Kabankalan City voluntarily surrendered to the police.

Mark Medel, 28, who was driving a motorcycle, died after he hit a man along Kilometer 12.5 in Barangay Taloc, Bago City around 6:30 a.m. Monday. The other victim Pelino Tababa, 70, was crossing the street when Medel drove into him.

Still in Bago, laborer Ranillo de Madiego, 56, died after he was sideswiped by a private vehicle at Purok Cosmos, Barangay Calumangan on Monday around 6 p.m. The vehicle was driven by Harold Ecraela, 64, of Barangay Lalagsan, La Castellana town, police records showed.

In Cadiz City, a man and his nephew died while their three relatives, including a minor, were injured after their tricycle collided with a tractor at Humapog Bridge in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. Superintendent Edel Jose Manzano, chief of Cadiz City Police Station, identified the fatalities as Alejandro Vito Sr., 56, and tricycle driver Celso Vito, 40, while the injured as Dennis Templado, 29; Joan Vito, 28; and Alejandro’s 15-year-old son. The speeding tricycle was on its way to a hospital, passing through a one-way lane of the bridge. Tractor driver Florencio Tesing, 59, of Hacienda Balandra 1, Barangay Daga was released from police custody Wednesday afternoon after both parties agreed on a settlement.

In Victorias City, Reynold Fundal of Quezon Street died after a truck ran over him at the national highway of Barangay 4 Tuesday. Fundal, who was driving a motorcycle, stopped to give way to an ambulance but a truck driven by Pablito Bebelen, 67, of Barangay San Pablo, Manapla town hit his vehicle.

In Bacolod City, Roger Cines, 33, of Barangay Vista Alegre, Ilog town was killed after his motorcycle hit concrete a wall on Araneta Street at Purok Paghidaet, Barangay Tangub around 5:10 a.m. on Tuesday. Cines fell on the pavement and succumbed to head injuries.

In Negros Oriental, Barangay Lawakon, Jimalalud resident Sancel Ceriano died while his companion Janie Apolinario Estorco was injured when their motorcycle hit a wall along the highway of Barangay Ajong, Sibulan town Wednesday. Elizer Obado Abatayo, 35, of Amlan town and Francis Roy Guillepa, 22, of San Jose town also died after their motorcycle collided with a tricycle at Barangay Sto. Niño, San Jose town Wednesday.

Odds of Dying From Transportation Accidents

22nd Feb 2017

The odds shown are statistical averages over the entire U.S. population and do not necessarily reflect the chances of death for a particular person from a particular external cause.

Source:

National Safety Council. As of 2013. For 100 years, the National Safety Council has been the leading safety advocate preventing unintentional injuries and death.

Argentina coach crash: At least 19 killed near border with Chile

Image copyrightEPAImage captionThe accident is reported to have happened in good weather on a well maintained road

At least 19 people were killed when a coach overturned on a remote road in the Argentinian Andes, near the border with Chile, officials say.

A survivor who was not identified said that the coach had been travelling too fast, despite the concerns of passengers.

The crash happened near Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia.

The Chilean company that operated the vehicle says it is striving to ascertain the identities of the dead.

Mendoza Provincial Governor Alejandro Gulle was quoted by AFP news agency as saying said that two Chilean coach drivers who survived the crash were being questioned in the town of Uspallata, a tourist location near the 6,960m (22,835ft) Mt Aconcagua.

The dead – including three children – are mostly from Argentina but also from Chile, Colombia and Haiti, officials say. The accident happened in good weather on a well maintained road but on a dangerous curve.

“I was sleeping when the bus began to flip over,” the unidentified teenaged passenger told Argentina’s Channel 13. “[When] I woke up and I was falling.

“[The bus] was going at a high speed. It hit the roadside, first it moved a little bit and then continued. It went very fast, very fast.”

The passenger said the bus had continued to travel at speed even though passengers volubly complained.

32 dead in Taiwan’s worst highway accident for decades

February 14, 2017 By Agence France-Presse

The wreckage of the tourist coach which crashed near Taipei, Taiwan, early 14 February 2017. A tourist coach carrying about 44 people crashed off a highway near Taipei on 13 February, leaving at least 32 dead. /EPA

It comes after a bus inferno in July last year killed 25 Chinese holidaymakers on board, and is the latest in a series of deadly incidents that have tarnished Taiwan’s safety record.

The Taiwanese passengers had been returning from a trip to a farm in the central region of Taichung when the bus veered off the motorway in the capital Taipei. Local media said the top of the bus had been torn off and its occupants tossed onto the roadside.

Dashcam footage reported to be from a vehicle behind the bus showed it heading towards a bend in the road then disappearing off the edge of the highway. Police are investigating whether the bus was speeding at the time, according to reports.

The national fire agency said 32 people had been killed, with 12 still being treated in hospital, most with serious injuries.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency said it was the worst road accident for 30 years.

“The passengers are all Taiwanese and mostly older people,” said Chen Chih-min from Taipei City fire department, which confirmed the crashed vehicle was a sightseeing tour bus.

The bus carrying 44 people was left flipped over on the side of the road and around 100 rescuers rushed to the scene. Victims’ bodies were laid out at the crash site covered in white and blue cloths, and two cranes attempted to lift the toppled bus.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Lin Chuan gave their condolences. sai said authorities must “make all efforts to save the injured people and properly handle the aftermath”.

Safety questions The bus was reported to be 19 years old and belonged to an agency that runs tours across Taiwan. Responding to speculation about the condition of the bus and whether it was speeding, Taipei Deputy Mayor Teng Chia-chi said police were investigating and would “report when the cause is clarified”. Teng confirmed the passengers had been visiting Wuling Farm in Taichung, which is famous for cherry blossoms at this time of year.

It is the worst highway accident since 1986, when a bus fell into a river in central Taiwan, killing 42, CNA reported. An investigation into last year’s fatal bus inferno outside Taipei found the driver had intentionally set fire to it in a suicide bid before it veered into a crash barrier.

The incident prompted Chinese authorities to demand the island take measures to improve safety for mainland visitors. Several fatal incidents in Taiwan in the past two years have triggered safety probes.

In February 2015 a TransAsia plane crashed into a river in Taipei, killing 43 on board — including 28 mainland Chinese tourists. A report by investigators confirmed the pilot had shut down the wrong engine after the other one failed.

In June 2015 coloured corn starch sprayed over crowds at a water park party near Taipei ignited due to the heat of stage lights, killing 15 and injuring more than 500. The organiser of the event was jailed for negligence.

The collapse of a residential block during an earthquake in the southern city of Tainan in February last year, which left 115 dead, also led to an investigation which showed builders had cut corners.

MMDA records more than 100,000 NCR traffic accidents in 2016

By: Clara Masinag, InterAksyon February 13, 2017

Road accident in the National Capital Region.InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

MANILA – Over 100,000 traffic accidents in National Capital Region (NCR) were recorded in 2016, which caused 446 fatalities, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported on Monday.

The 2016 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMRAS) database showed that, of the 109,322 recorded accidents, 40,823 or 37.34 percent occurred during the hours of darkness, while 68,499 or 62.65% occurred during daytime.

“But, it can be observed that, even though the greater proportion of the accidents occurred at daytime, there were numerous fatal accidents during nighttime and the wee hours of the morning.

“Drivers, passengers and pedestrians are advised to be cautious and attentive during those particular hours. MMRAS, created and operated by the agency’s Traffic Discipline and Engineering Offices – Road Safety Unit, in close cooperation with the Philippine National Police, highlighted these aspects in the mother data.

According to MMRAS, motorcycles topped the list of vehicles in Metro Manila with the most number of deaths in road accidents, at 218, followed by trucks with 103, and cars with 98.

For non fatal incidents, motorcycles still topped the stats with an 11,456 share, followed by cars with 7,544, and Public Utility Jeepneys with 1,922.

The MMRAS data indicated that damage to cars were the highest, at 11,456, followed by trucks with 18,052 and vans with 17,406.

The statistics also underscored at least 50 major roads in Metro Manila where most accidents occur:

30 killed in traffic accidents on last day of Tet holiday

As many as 30 people were killed and 47 injured in traffic accidents on February 1, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.

A minibus collided with a train in Dong Nai Province on February 1, killing two people and injuring seven others.

There were 41 traffic accidents including 39 on road and two on railway, which is a sharp increase compared to the previous days, the committee said.

One of the most serious accidents occurred at 10am on the North-South Railway in the southern province of Dong Nai when a train collided with a 16-seat minibus, killing two people and injuring 7 others.

Traffic police also dealt with 4,463 violations on roads, and 38 violations on waterways nationwide. A report from the committee showed that during the seven-day holiday, 171 people were killed in 267 traffic accidents through-out the country, which is a decrease compared 2016 Tet Holiday when 300 people were killed and 380 injured in 408 accidents.

Two killed, seven injured as train hits car in southern VietnamTwo people were killed and seven others injured after a train slammed into a car in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai on Wednesday morning. Two people were killed and seven others injured after a train slammed into a car in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai on Wednesday morning. The 16-seater automobile was hit by the train SQN1, running from the south-central province of Binh Dinh to Ho Chi Minh City, when it was traveling in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai at around 10:15 am. Two people in the car, Pham Hong Anh and Pham Tien, were…… [read more]

Traffic accidents rise sharply during TetHanoi (VNA) – Traffic accidents rose sharply during the week-long Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, killing 203 people and injuring 417 others in 368 incidents. Road accidents accounted for 97.8 percent (360) of the total incidents, 97 percent (197) of the deaths, and 97.36 percent (406) of the injured during the holiday from January 26 to February 1. There were eight railway accidents, killing six and injuring 11 people. Traffic accidents peaked on January 30 (the third day of the Lunar New Year), with 60 incidents in which 38 people were killed and 69 others wounded. Only six provinces were…… [read more]

On Vietnamese roads, death didn’t take a holiday141 people were killed in crashes across the country during the week-long Lunar New Year break which started last Thursday. A total of 226 traffic accidents and 141 deaths have been reported since last Thursday, when Vietnam’s Lunar New Year break began. These incidents also injured 252 others nationwide, according to local media reports, which cited official data. Most of them were road crashes but there was one rail incident, in which one person was injured. There were about 2,510 traffic violations which resulted in fines worth VND469 million ($20,500). In comparison, during the nine-day Tet break last year, 300…… [read more]

118 killed in road accidents during Lunar New YearViet Nam News HÀ NỘI – The death toll from traffic accidents amounted to 118 during the first three days of the Lunar New Year (January 28-30). On January 29 alone, 42 road accidents took place in which 25 people were killed and 36 others injured. On January 30, 38 people were killed and 69 injured in 60 traffic accidents. Between January 26 and 30, 192 traffic accidents occurred, killing 118 people and leaving 197 people injured. The National Traffic Safety Committee said it saw a significant increase in the number of calls and messages to the hotline number on…… [read more]

2 killed, 27 injured in bus crash in northern VietnamTraffic accidents remain of the leading causes of death among adults in the country. A deadly accident took place on Monday morning in the northern province of Quang Ninh when a bus crashed into a mountain. Local authorities said the bus was carrying a group of passengers home from a pilgrimage trip for the Lunar New Year. Two people were killed and 27 others, including the driver, injured. The dead victims, aged 18 and 36, were from Thai Binh Province, officials said. The other passengers are receiving treatment. Police are investigating the case. According to the World Health Organization, road…… [read more]

Traffic accidents remain the biggest single cause of fatalities in Vietnam even as the country has been working to make local roads safer.

On average, there is one death per hour. The country is trying to reduce road traffic fatalities to fewer than 20 per day, or 7,300 per year.

Traffic congestion, inadequate law enforcement, poor driving skills and bad street conditions are often cited as the main reasons for road crashes.

Vietnam is celebrating the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday. Most of the country will go back to work on Thursday.

Sixteen dead, mostly Hungarian teenagers, in Italy bus accident

21st Jan 2017

Sixteen people were killed and about 40 injured after a bus carrying Hungarian students burst into flames on a highway in northern Italy, police and the fire service said on Saturday.

The bus went off the road near a highway exit close to the city of Verona overnight. The local highway police chief said it was carrying mostly teenage students, teachers and parents.Firefighters inspect the burned hulk of a bus that crashed and burst into flames near Verona, northern Italy. Photo: AP

“Many children among the victims of the accident in Verona, a bus catches fire on impact with a pillar,” national police said on Twitter, adding they had come to Italy from France.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference that the teenagers were from a Budapest secondary school, returning from their annual ski camp in France.
Flames engulf a bus that crashed near Verona, northern Italy. Photo: AP

He added that there was uncertainty over the exact number of passengers in the bus, but it was higher than the director of the school had known about.

Szijjarto said that one of the victims, whose life was at risk, was being kept in a coma, and that all of the injured were in hospital. The minister added that twelve passengers were “well” and were staying in a hotel in the southern part of Verona.

Local highway police chief Girolamo Lacquaniti told Sky TG24 television some people had minor injuries, but others were more serious. Lacquaniti said the cause of the crash would be investigated. “We are not aware of other vehicles being involved, it seems to have gone off the road of its own accord.” Police released photographs and television footage of the burned-out hulk near a road bridge.

“With my prayers, I am with the families and friends shocked by the tragedy,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a statement sent to the national news agency MTI.

Man deliberately drove car into pedestrians

Six Britons killed in Saudi crash

19th Jan 2017

Seven people have been killed in a road crash in Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Office says.

It is understood the group were killed in a minibus crash as they were on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Four members of a family from Levenshulme, near Manchester, and a couple from Glasgow, are thought to have died in the accident.

Several other Britons on the bus, which had 12 people on board, were injured.

A Foreign Office spokesman said consular assistance was being provided to relatives. “We are supporting the families of six British people who have sadly died following a road accident in Saudi Arabia,” the spokesman said. “We are also helping several more British nationals who were injured in the crash,” they added.

“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this very difficult time.”

The Britons were travelling to Medina (pictured), the second holiest city in Islam, which is where the Prophet Muhammad is buried

It is thought those involved had been in Saudi Arabia as part of the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims at any time of the year. Glasgow Central Mosque paid tribute to the couple from Glasgow on its Facebook page. They have just completed Umrah and were travelling in a minibus,” the mosque said. “Tragically they were involved in a fatal accident.”

At Least 24 Children Killed When Bus, Truck Collide in India

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LUCKNOW, India — Jan 19, 2017

A truck loaded with sand collided with a school bus early Thursday, killing at least 24 young children in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said. At least two dozen other children were injured in the collision when the speeding truck collided head-on with the bus, said Javeed Ahmed, the state’s top police official.

The children, between the ages of 3 and 12, were studying at a school in the town of Etah. Another police officer, Daljeet Chaudhry, said visibility was low due to dense fog.

Ahmed said rescuers were working to free several children still trapped in the wreckage. The state’s education authorities had closed all schools in the district due to a severe cold wave, and Ahmed said authorities would check why the school had stayed open.

Accidents are common on Indian roads, with most blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.

UK: Driving test stand-in fraud figures revealed

17th Jan 2017Image copyrightPA

Dozens of learner drivers are caught each year using stand-ins to take their test for them, official figures show.

Transport minister Andrew Jones said there were 209 convictions from 2012-13 to 2016-17, with more than half (53%) dealt with by the Metropolitan Police. In addition, 111 people were convicted of taking the practical or theory tests on behalf of others over the same time.

A total of about 1.5 million practical and 1.9 million theory tests are taken each year.

Mr Jones said the majority of investigations were conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) until there is enough evidence to support an arrest and prosecution.

Year

Convictions for using a stand-in

Convictions for acting as a stand-in

2016-17

37

28

2015-16

44

23

2014-15

39

26

2013-14

44

22

2012-13

45

12

DVSA head of counter-fraud and investigations Andy Rice said: “The driving test is there to ensure that all drivers have the skills and knowledge to use the roads safely and responsibly.

“Anyone who tries to circumvent this process is putting innocent road users at risk. Driving test fraud is a serious offence and is dealt with accordingly. “We have stringent measures in place to detect fraudulent activity and work closely with the police to bring all offenders to justice.”

More than 1,100 licences have been revoked due to such activity in the past five years.

In September, a man was given a two-year prison sentence at Croydon Crown Court after taking a series of car, motorcycle and lorry theory tests on behalf of other people. RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “By being prepared to get behind the wheel by fair means or foul, people hiring impersonators put everyone’s lives at risk because neither we nor they have any idea whether their driving meets the required standard.

“Our strong road safety record is built on three pillars – roadworthy vehicles, responsibly driven by properly qualified drivers. This sort of behaviour is flagrantly kicking one of those pillars away.”

The data was released in response to a parliamentary question by Lincoln MP Karl McCartney.

Eighty percent of traffic accidents caused by cell phones. And in the USA a stop to Whatsapp and SMS while driving

17th January 2017

A vechicle lies tragically crumpled on the bitumen, still smoking, whole families destroyed, young lives cut short. This is not the trailer for a war movie, but a sad everyday reality; that of road accidents. In fact, ever greater numbers of people are losing their lives on the road, mainly due to brief distractions while driving, in particular involving cell phone use.

Cell phones and driving: the tragic numbers of a worldwide problem

The Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Graziano Delrio, recently announced that 80% of road accidents in Italy are caused by the use of smartphones. In practice, 8 out of 10 people lose their lives to read a text message, tap out a quick message on WhatsApp, or to read a notification on Facebook. This figure is astonishing, and cause for reflection.

But this sad statistic does not just apply to Italy. In Europe the situation is equally serious. It is still a long way from The European Union’s 2020 Road Safety Targets , which aim to drastically diminish within this decade the number of victims of road accidents. The numbers are yet again cruel. In 2015, around 26,302 people died on roads throughout the European Union. Wartime numbers. Among the top causes, in addition to drink driving and excessive speed, is always the misuse of mobile phones while driving.

The situation in the USA is also equally alarming, despite extremely strict legislation which considers equally dangerous those who drive while on a cell phone as those who consume alcohol. But the very heavy penalties obviously have not been enough of a detterent and reduce the number of road accidents, which rose sharply by more than 8% in 2015 alone.

To try to address the problem, the State of New York has recently introduced the Textalyzer, a kind of alcohol test for cell phones, which are able to measure, so to speak, the messaging rate of those at the wheel. The operation of this new device is very simple. In case of a traffic accident, a police officer requests use of the phone and uses the Textalyzer to enter the operating system and verify the most recent activities carried out by the driver. The instrument is able, in fact, to determine when and how the driver has used their smartphone. A refusal to relinquish a smartphone will result in immediate licence disqualification.

The Textalyzer is still in trial phase, but if it proves successful, its use may be extended to the rest of the United States, and could even spread to Latin America or Europe.

Using your phone while driving: what scientific research reveals

Statistical data on the misuse of digital tools when driving is also supported by many neuroscientists. According to recent research, those who use a smartphone while driving have a statistical risk of causing a car crash four times higher than average. In fact, the risk even surpasses those who are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
Furthermore, the laboratory of Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Utah have been investigating for some time, with special virtual driving simulators, the real impact of smartphone and tablets on driver performance and road safety. The results are shocking.

The results reveal a genuine ‘inattention-blindness’ , which drastically increases the reaction time and the capacity in the face of an unexpected event such as a sudden braking or steering. In practice, the technological display screen causes a sensory drowsiness, particularly a visual one, lowering our capacity to pay attention whilst driving.

The research did not not prove the same effect – for example – from listening to the radio. A very loud alarm bell that should provoke serious reflection on the use of digital technologies whilst driving.

Punishment and campaigns aren’t enough: media education is needed

Of course, beyond this data and scientific research, the fact is that cell phones can also effect our emotions – and thus actions and behavior behind the wheel, to the point of not being able to resist the temptation to read immediately the latest notification, and so putting lives in danger.

In past years, many information and prevention campaigns have run; for example in Italy, Britainand Mexico.

However, if neither laws with severe penalties nor awareness campaigns are enough, maybe it is time to begin media education courses in schools, libraries, universities, hospitals, and even in the workplace, to help people acquire accurate knowledge regarding the use of tablets and phones. To learn how to manage our relationship with technology in a healthy way, with balance and intelligence – and avoiding excesses of use and unhealthy addictions. In short – a media detox, starting with the creation of good digital resolutions. These may save our lives and those of our families.

India: 3 People Die Every 10 Minutes In Road Accidents; Up 9% in 4 Years

13th Jan 2017

There were nine road accidents that killed three people every 10 minutes in 2015, according to new national data, an increase of 9% over four years.

Road accidents killed 148,000 people in 2015 compared to 136,000 in 2011, according to the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Road accidents accounted for 83% of all traffic-related deaths in India and 43% of all accidental deaths in 2015. Other traffic-related deaths were from railway accidents (15%) and accidents at railway crossings (2%).

There were 464,000 road accidents in 2015, an increase of 3% from 2014, when there were 450,000 road accidents.

While Tamil Nadu (69,059), Karnataka (44,011) and Maharashtra (42,250) reported the most road accidents, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of deaths in road accidents (18,407).

The road transport sector contributes to 4.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), but India loses 1-3% of GDP due to road accidents, according to this 2007 report of the road transport working group of the erstwhile Planning Commission for the XIth Plan.

Despite a national road safety strategy and laws on speed limits, wearing helmets and seat belts and drunk-driving, the World Health Organization rates India’s enforcement as 3 out of 10 on speed limits, 4 out of 10 on wearing motorcycle helmet, 4 out of 10 on drunk-driving and 4 out of 10 on wearing seat belts.

Two-wheeler riders are most at risk: Two-wheeler accidents accounted for 29% of all fatal road accidents in 2015, claiming 45,540 lives, followed by trucks (19%), which killed 28,910 people and cars (12%), which killed 18,506 people.

Tamil Nadu (3,668) and Maharashtra (3,146) reported the largest number of people killed in two-wheeler accidents, while Uttar Pradesh had reported the largest number of lives lost due to truck accidents (5,720) and car accidents (2,135).

More pedestrians were killed in Maharashtra (1,256) than any other state, accounting for 17% of pedestrian deaths.

National highways, India’s most dangerous roads: Although national highways account for only 1.51% of India’s road length, they accounted for 28% of road accidents and 33% of road-mishap deaths nationwide in 2015. State highways, 3% of India’s road length, contributed to 25% of road accidents and 28% of deaths due to road mishaps.

Over-speeding most common cause of fatal road accidents : Over-speeding was responsible for 41% of death in road accidents, while careless or dangerous driving claimed 32% of death in road accidents. Poor weather (4%) and mechanical defects (3%) in motor vehicles were other causes for deaths in road accidents. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra had the most number of casualties due to over-speeding, with 15% and 12% of cases, respectively.

Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of deaths due to careless/dangerous driving (17%), followed by Maharashtra (9%).

Chennai has maximum accidents, Delhi deadliest: Chennai accounted for 9% of all road accidents in 53 cities, followed by Delhi (9%) and Bengaluru (6%).
Delhi (8%) and Jaipur (5%) had the largest number of deaths in road accidents, among 53 cities.

Cars accounted for close to half of the 24,639 accidents on Mumbai roads last year. Accidents involving cars also caused maximum fatalities and serious injuries in 2016. Data obtained from the Mumbai Traffic Police shows that 2016 witnessed a thousand more accidents than in 2015. Until November 2016, there were 438 fatal accidents in which 467 people were killed, while 2,304 people were seriously injured in 1,874 accidents. In the entire 2015, 611 people were killed in 586 accidents and 2,482 were seriously injured in 2,034 accidents, the police said.

Traffic police data: In 2016, cars accounted for most accidents in Mumbai

“A large percentage of accidents on roads involve damage to vehicles, like small dents,” said a traffic police official.

However, car drivers were responsible for the death of 109 people in 98 accidents and causing serious injuries to 751 people in 620 accidents.

The data also showed that an additional 329 people sustained minor injuries in 228 accidents. According to the traffic police, cars accounted for 162 fatalities in 119 accidents in 2015 while 786 people were seriously hurt in 632 accidents.

But of the 9,655 accidents that involved cars last year, 8,709 were those in which no physical harm was caused to pedestrians, passengers and drivers. “A large percentage of accidents on roads involve damage to vehicles, like small dents,” said a traffic police official. In 2016, there were 21,671 such accidents.

In 2016, motorcycle riders were responsible for a total of 2,784 accidents, of these, 101 were fatal accidents and caused 104 deaths. Further 674 people were seriously injured in 545 accidents. Motorcycles were just as deadly on the roads in 2015, with 169 people killed in 162 accidents and 781 people killed in 645 accidents, the data shows.

Last year, lorries (36), dumpers (25) and auto-rickshaws (24), also accounted for a significant number of deaths on the road, the data shows.

Among the 12 most populated Indian cities, Mumbai registered fourth highest road accidents (586), behind Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. However, Mumbai had the most number of accidents (19,635) in which only vehicles were damaged. By contrast, Kolkata recorded only 1,174 such no-injury accidents, while Indore and Bengaluru registered 1,073 and 8,956 such cases respectively.

Traffic accidents kill nearly 8,700, injure 19,000 in Vietnam

TUOI TRE NEWS 01/08/2017

Approximately 8,685 people lost their lives in traffic accidents across Vietnam in 2016, prompting relevant authorities to establish a new goal to reduce the number in 2017.

The statistic was announced at a tele-conference held on Wednesday to discuss the country’s traffic issues. Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Truong Hoa Binh chaired the conference.

According to Khuat Viet Hung, vice-chairman of the traffic safety committee, the number of fatalities is only 43 lower than 2015, nowhere near the country’s five percent reduction goal for traffic-related casualties. Road accidents also injured an additional 19,000 people over the past 12 months, Hung added.

Most tragedies arose from incompliance with traffic regulations, including travelling in the wrong lane, speeding, and drunk driving. About 67 percent of the accidents in 2016 involved motorcycles, while 27 percent were caused by automobiles. More than 50 percent were brought about by people between 27 and 55 years old, the official stated, adding that one-third of the collisions involved victims between 18 and 27 years old.

Other factors, such as a rise in demand for travel, the degradation of infrastructure, the mushrooming of high-rise apartment buildings, and sluggish public transport projects, also contributed to many of the traffic accidents throughout the country.

During the meeting, Deputy PM Binh praised certain provinces that had managed to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities by more than 10 percent, namely the southern provinces of An Giang and Tay Ninh. Vuong Binh Thanh, chairman of the People’s Committee in An Giang, stated that local authorities took specific assertive actions to prevent the crashes.

“The province banned public servants and officials from drinking during the day. Given their positions of authority we chose not to tolerate any of their indiscretions,” Thanh continued.

Tay Ninh applied similar measures, a representative of the provincial administration said, stressing that increasing traffic regulation awareness in the community was absolutely necessary.

Fewer accidents in 2017

The deputy premier agreed that a five percent reduction in tragic accidents and casualties in 2017 compared to 2016 is a reasonable target, adding that alleviating traffic jams in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will also be a primary focus.

He suggested establishing a traffic safety culture in which citizens, particularly young people, are taught to acknowledge and comply with regulations and laws.

He added that leaders and official authorities should also set good examples to local residents through their consistent compliance with traffic laws.

Hotlines should also be available for people to report traffic issues and assist traffic police units in performing their tasks, Deputy PM Binh stated.

Sterner punishment necessary

According to the Ho Chi Minh City traffic police division, approximately 3,852 accidents occurred in the southern hub in 2016, killing 798 people, 100 more than in 2015.

Over 90 percent of the collisions were caused by citizens’ failure to comply with traffic laws.

Aside from poor road quality and traffic infrastructure, a lack of assertiveness in penalties also exacerbated the situation, Captain Tran Thi Hong Nhung, an official from the police division, stated.

Sharing a similar opinion, Lieutenant General Le Dong Phong, director of the city’s Department of Police, said that firmer punishments must be imposed on those who violate traffic regulations.

Lessons on such rules should be added to elementary school curricula in the city, said Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, a separate official from the municipal Traffic Safety Committee.

Laos: Traffic accidents claim 1,086 lives in Laos in 2016

VIENTIANE, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — As many as 1,086 people were killed in 5,616 road accidents across Laos in 2016, according to the Traffic Police Department under Lao Ministry of Public Security.

The fatalities by traffic accidents in 2016 represented a significant rise compared to 2015 when 995 people were killed in 5,571 road accidents. Police said the number of accidents was increasing as many motorists continued to violate the traffic rules.

In 2016, over 8,910 people were injured by traffic accidents while 10,305 vehicles were damaged, costing over 83 billion Lao kip (nearly 10.2 million U.S. dollars).

Capital Vientiane topped the list with 1,554 accidents and 261 fatalities. This represented an increase of 66 accidents and 24 fatalities compared to 2015, reported state-run Vientiane Times on Friday.

The main causes of road accidents in 2016 were listed as intoxication, reckless driving and general violation of the traffic rules.

Laos has a high rate of road accidents compared to other countries in the region with motorbikes involved in 95 percent of all vehicular accidents and males making up 90 percent of the fatalities.

Meanwhile, alcohol is recognized as a major cause of accidents and incidents of drunk driving are higher than ever, said the traffic police department.

About 90 percent of accidents involve drunk driving, overspeeding and other violations of the traffic rules. Many accidents occur on weekends and special occasions when people get together to drink alcohol.

3 soldiers die, 22 wounded in Talipao, Sulu road accident

Friday, January 07, 2017 By BONG GARCIA

THREE soldiers died while 22 others were injured in a vehicular accident in a remote village of Sulu around 5:30 a.m. Friday, January 6, the military said. Major Filemon Tan, Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesperson said the soldiers were aboard a military truck when it veered out of the main road in Upper Kamuntayan in Talipao, Sulu.

The truck’s brake allegedly malfunctioned “causing the vehicle to lose its balance and slip out of the road.” He said the truck came from the headquarters of the joint Task Force Sulu and was en route “to the operational area” at the time of the accident.

Tan did not release the identities of the dead and injured soldiers who were brought to a military hospital in Camp General Teodulfo Bautista in Jolo, Sulu. He said that 18 of the 22 wounded were airlifted aboard a C-130 “Hercules” cargo plane to Zamboanga City. The military official said the remains of the three fatalities were also transported en route to their respective native places. (Sunnex)

UK: ‘Reflection in them sunglasses says three more points’: Friends of beautician, 30, caught on Facebook getting a stranger to take her speeding conviction for £300 ridicule her dangerous selfie

Sheree Siddall was desperate to shift points after fourth conviction in two years

Scheme was foiled after police officer – who was also her customer – saw plea

Siddall, from Yorkshire, was jailed for four months and banned from the road

Posted a string of selfies on Facebook, some while at the wheel of her car

A beautician who paid a stranger to take her speeding points for £300 also posted pictures while she was driving, prompting friends to suggest she should have had more points on her license.

Sheree Siddall, 30, from Yafforth in Yorkshire, was desperate to shift the points after being slapped with her fourth speeding conviction in two years.

She asked Facebook friends if anyone would be willing to take her points for cash.

However, the make-up artist’s scheme was foiled after her plea for help was seen on social media by a police officer, who was also one of her clients.

Sheree Siddall, 30, from Yafforth in Yorkshire, paid a stranger to take her speeding points for £300 after putting out a plea on Facebook. Above, a selfie she took while at the wheel of her car

Siddall posted multiple pictures on social media, where her steering wheel can be clearly seen in the reflection of her sunglasses

Siddall’s social media page also reveals selfies taken while at the wheel of her car.

The steering wheel is clearly seen in her sunglasses lens, where the road can be made out. On one photo, a friend commented: ‘Reflection in them sunglasses says three more points LOL.’

Another shows her hair billowing in the wind as she drives with the top down and an empty passenger seat. Siddall was jailed for four months and banned from driving for eight months after admitting perjury at York Crown Court.

She was caught speeding in her Audi TT in a 30mph zone on the A684 near Morton-on-Swale on July 10 last year. She posted on her Facebook page: ‘Who wants cash for taking three points? Been done again.’

Siddall then lied about who was driving when she was asked to confirm the person behind the wheel. A friend approached her and he arranged for another man to be paid £300 by Siddall to take the points. In mitigation, she said her actions were a result of being drunk and her bipolar disorder, which made her act on impulse. (Sic! Madbnness Ed)

Siddall was jailed for four months and banned from driving for eight months after admitting perjury at York Crown Court. Siddall shared this picture of her behind the wheel while her hair billowed behind her in the wind

However, no medical evidence was presented stating Siddall had the condition.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC said: ‘A man collected the points and the punishment in the magistrates court that were due to you.

‘This would never have come to light as no doubt so many other cases of this nature would have come to light, except for a Facebook post that was seen by one of your clients who is a police officer.

Siddall’s scheme was foiled after her plea for help was seen on social media by a police officer, who was also one of her clients ‘You put the job out to tender so when you were approached by a friend to do this you handed over £300 to avoid the disqualification that was waiting for you.’

Following the hearing, a post on Siddall’s business Facebook account stated: ‘Due to unforeseen circumstances Sheree will be unable to work for the next two months.

‘All appointments for the coming two months will need to be rescheduled/cancelled.’

New Year road deaths surge in Thailand despite safety campaign

4th January 2017

More than 400 people died in road accidents in Thailand over the New Year period, statistics released on Wednesday showed, despite a government road safety campaign in one of the most dangerous countries in the world to drive a car.

The Department of Land Transport said 426 people died in 3,327 accidents between Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, up from 340 in the year-earlier period. Thailand’s road death rate is the highest in the world apart from war-ravaged Libya, according to a 2015 World Health Organization report.

The mounting figures come despite a government campaign to make Thailand’s roads safer, including an increase in police presence and public information campaigns. Laws that mandate the use of seat belts and crash helmets are rarely enforced while drunk driving is common.

“Unfortunately the number of fatalities has increased despite a campaign from the government and law enforcement to increase safety,” government spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak told Reuters. “Road safety is something we will have to continue working on continuously and not just during the new year period.”

On Monday, 25 people died when a van collided with a pick-up truck in Chon Buri province south of Bangkok – the highest death toll in a single incident over the holiday period. Excessive speed is the top cause of road death, according to the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

Road and boat accidents involving tourists are common in Thailand, where safety standards are sometimes well below international norms.

Despite its woeful road and sea safety record, Thailand remains a magnet for foreign visitors. The tourism ministry had forecast a record 32.4 million arrivals in 2016. It has yet to release final figures for the year.

UK: BMW driver on the loose after two walkers died in hit and run ‘breaks into nearby house and buries £100,000 in garden’

3 January 2017

A driver who fled the scene of a fatal hit-and-run that claimed the lives of two pedestrians might have buried a suitcase with £100,000 in cash in a nearby garden. Two men, believed to be in their late teens and early 20s, died after they were struck by a BMW on the B1091 between Yaxley and Farcet in Cambridgeshire shortly after 11am today.

The motorist, said to be in his 40s, fled the scene on foot and remains on the run. Shortly after the crash a house just 200 yards away was broken into and the suitcase stuffed with cash was later found buried in the garden, Mirror Online reported.

Shortly after the crash a house just 200 yards away was reportedly broken into and the suitcase stuffed with cash was later found buried in the garden.

The motorist, said to be in his 40s, fled the scene and remains on the run. The road remains closed in both directions as Cambridgeshire Constabulary continue their investigation. Cambridgeshire Constabulary are now investigating whether the two incidents are linked. The force said in a statement: ‘Police are looking at whether a call from a member of the public reporting a man entering their home is connected to the incident and the discovery of a briefcase containing a quantity of cash which was recovered in the area.

‘An air ambulance was sent to the scene but the two men died. The victims are yet to be identified and police are trying to trace their next of kin.

Thailand : New Year road accident death toll rises to 367 after five days

January 03, 2017 By The Nation

New Year road accidents’ death toll rose to 367 at the end of the fifth day of the so-called seven dangerous New Year holidays, the road safety announced Tuesday.

Assistant Police Commissioner General Pol Lt Gen Witthaya Prayongphan told a press conference at the centre that 3,157 road accidents occurred from December 29 to Monday, killing 367 people and injuring 3,342 others.

Nearly 80 killed by traffic accidents during New Year holiday

JANUARY 2, 2017

Hanoi (VNA) – During the three-day calendar New Year 2017 holiday, the country saw 93 traffic accidents which killed 79 people and injured 54 others, according to the Traffic Police Department.Of which, there are 91 road accidents, claiming 77 lives and injuring 54 others.

On January 2, 21 people died and 23 others were injured as a result of 30 road accidents. Two other people were killed in two railway accidents.

Mom killed, son severely injured in accident after purchasing textbooks

2nd January 2016

The motorcycle after it collided with a Toyota Avanza.

KUCHING: A woman died while her son sustained serious injuries after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a Toyota Avanza at a traffic light intersection of Jalan FAC Matang/Telaga Air near here Sunday.

In the 11.15am incident, it was learnt that the deceased, identified as Habibah Abi, 43, and her son, Mohammad Sapiee Johari, 18, was on their way home after returning from purchasing textbooks at a nearby school.

Sarawak Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department acting deputy chief, ASP Mathew Manggi said initial investigation revealed that the accident occurred when the Toyota Avanza, which was coming from the Kuching direction towards Lundu, hit the motorcycle that came from Telaga Air towards Jalan Matang Lama.

“Habibah died at the scene due to the collision,” he said here today.

Mathew urged members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forward.

Female police trainee dies in motorcycle crash along LDP

BY FAISAL ASYRAF – 2 JANUARY 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: An auxiliary police trainee died in a motorcycle crash at KM20.1 of the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), today. The victim, identified as Nurul Syazwani, 25, hailed from Semenyih, Selangor. Serdang police chief Assistant Commissioner Megat Mohd Aminuddin Megat Alias said the incident happened at 8am, when Nurul was on the way from her house at Nilam Puri, Puchong to her workplace at MRCB, KL Sentral.

Megat said Nurul died due to severe head injuries. Preliminary investigation showed that she lost control of her motorcycle while negotiating a corner at the location. Megat said no other vehicles were involved in the incident.